Shadow Of Your Smile
by Vegeta's Super Saiyan Swagger
Summary: After a meeting with the Gods, Nico is asked to go spy on a new breed of monsters in Forks, Washington. He never expected to fall for one. They don't know just what Nico is. What the Cullens don't know, won't hurt them. Right? Let the game of Cat and Mouse begin. N/Rn Ed/B J/A Em/R C/Es Dark later on. Powerful! Nico R:T for now. No OCs!
1. Mi Manca

**Author's Note: This Crossover is AU for Twilight. Post-BD, but the Cullens live in Forks. For the sake of the story I'm saying the events took place in another place and the Cullens/Hales moved to Forks. They've been there for a couple years. For PJATO, it's Post-SoN. It's after the Giant War. Final thing is that, with permission by the author, this Nico is more angled toward the Nico of Cannibal Crow's The Ghost King Chronicles power-wise. However, the events are altered. So if you see anything questionable going on with Nico, it's based off that. (ex. Nico's blood/tears being gray, wounds automatically healing, being blessed by Nyx, etc.)**

**With that out of the way, here's the story! For any who dislike fluff, I must warn you there WILL be fluff. I'm not much of a fluff person, so rest assured, it won't go on forever.**

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Shadow of Your Smile

_"Mi manca l'ombra del tuo sorriso"_

Nico sat on the lone bed in his cabin, deep in thought. Once again, he regretted his decision to come to Camp to train the younger demigods. Of course he was no longer teased or picked on. He's eighteen now, well-built and lethal with powers others would not expect. They'd be foolish to mess with him, but that doesn't mean he's accepted, just feared. There was still a sense of awe and respect given to him from other half bloods after they hear the tales of his life. None could compare to his cousin, Percy Jackson, Son of Poseidon and Savior of not only Olympus, but the World.

He was not jealous of Percy's fame, maybe a little envious of the acceptance, but not the fame. Percy is really the only true family Nico has left. Hades isn't exactly Father-of-the-Year material. He looked up to Percy like a little brother looks up to his big brother, and that's what he is in a way. Percy knew it too. He's one of the only reason Nico comes to Camp and how he ended up training these brats. Percy coerced him into it with the argument that 'I can't do it anymore. I'm going to college and I wanna know the kids are being trained by someone good. Please?' Of course, it wasn't that simple. It took a bit more pleading and a bribe of a free meal wherever Nico wanted to sway him, but swayed he was. Which brings us back to him sitting in the black, imposing building that is Cabin 13, Hades cabin where Nico is still the only demigod residing there.

A sigh passed his lips as black eyes glanced over the empty room. Greek fire torches were the only source of light, casting an eerie green light across the obsidian and silver structure. It was just as morbid and gloomy as one might imagine the cabin of the God of the Underworld would be. Bones were fixed into the wall as designs and made into furniture, such as chairs and the frame of his bed. In the middle of the spacious cabin, down a few steps to a platform, was a large ditch used to call upon ghosts and skeletal minions. Fixed above the door frame outside was a skull, it's jaw agape and rubies for eyes, reminiscent of the silver skull ring Nico has. It's an alarm system. When an uninvited entity enters the cabin, the eyes glow and from it's gaping maw comes an eerie siren. It calls upon not only Nico but the skeleton guardians hired to protect his cabin from enemies. There has been attempts to both break in and defile his cabin before. Shadows creep over every surface and crevice like translucent ashen snakes. Despite the weather outside, there's a constant chill around and inside Cabin 13. The smell of hearth and death, much like the Underworld, is prominent.

The lithe figure of Nico rose from his bed, stretching out, before walking casually to his desk and equipping himself for another torturous day. Melodramatic, yes, but completely justifiable. It's not very easy being the son of Hades, heir of the Underworld, King of Ghosts with a domain over monsters, and apprentice of both Erebus and Thanatos. It makes making friends a bit harder than your average person. He slipped on a plain black t-shirt and aviator jacket. After he outgrew his old one, he couldn't help but buy a new one. On slipped his silver skull ring, which, after discussing it with his father, he got enchanted to house his Stygian sword, sort of like Percy's pen-sword and watch-shield. It made carrying it around much easier than holstering it on his waist. With a frown, he picked up the barbed crown he received from his father after taking up position as heir of the Underworld. Shadows crept across the Stygian black barbs and a sense of power and dread seemed to roll from it. He placed it on his messy black hair and tapped it once, disguising it as a black beanie. At least then it didn't frighten others so fiercely. If he were to tap it twice it'd transform in to armor; a very useful trick.

After double checking to see if he forgot anything, he stepped out of his cabin and into the bright light of day. He had to shield his eyes, not yet accustomed to the intensity of the light. Many campers were up and at the Pavilion eating breakfast. He glanced around, noticing the sparse demigods glancing at him. He's one of the oldest and most experience campers here. Many of the others grew up and moved on. Only a few chose to stay behind as mentors. Will Solace had stayed behind, now about twenty-five, head medic and teacher of both healing and archery. Pollux had stayed behind with his father, Dionysus, still the only member of the cabin since his twin, Castor, died so many years ago. Rachel was still the oracle and Grover still a seeker. Malcolm had recently left for college as well, leaving the cabin in another's hands just as Annabeth had left it to him when she left. Most of the others had moved on, though they'd drop by every now and again.

He made it up to the dining hall, the shadows thicker and darker around him. The emerald grass seemed to wither away from wherever he stepped. He was just about to grab a plate to pile food on when he heard Chiron calling him over. Ignoring the questioning stares, he stood before Chiron, though he noticed the absence of Mr. D. Nico wasn't too put off by that seeing as he wasn't too fond of the God. That didn't stop him from wondering. Chiron looked at the demigod with wizened, thousand year old eyes and spoke in deep, knowledgeable but soothing tones.

"Nico, .Mr.D wanted me to inform you that your presence is requested on Olympus. He would not tell me why."

Nico stayed silent for a moment, mildly surprised by the information. His presence is requested. Pfft, yeah, right. Every demigod knows that when a God 'requests' something, they're demanding. He sighed, thanking the centaur before turning around. Well, at least it would get him out of teaching. That couldn't help the sense of dread building up inside him. Why did they want him? Last he recalled, he did nothing wrong. A frown lightly traced his lips, his brows furrowed in thought. Oh well. It's best not to keep the Gods waiting lest you wish to be turned to ashes.

With little effort, he Shadow Traveled from camp, relishing in the feeling. The feeling was exhilarating, traveling at speeds that felt as if your skin would fly off your body, the absolute cold of the complete darkness, and the sounds of monsters. Percy was the only other one who enjoyed shadow traveling. It made many sick, quite literally. Ever since taking apprenticeship under Erebus, he found traveling much less taxing and a lot easier. So far he's had no more side trips to China.

Nico found himself in a dark alley near the Empire State Building. He quickly ran across the street and in to the building. Per usual, the holder of the key was sitting behind a desk, immersed in a book. Nico rolled his eyes before talking to the man, already knowing he'd claim there's no 600th floor.

"I need to get to the 600th floor and don't tell me it doesn't exist. The Gods are waiting for me."

The man looked up from his book, frowning at Nico. He could clearly see the impatience in the young demigod and tossed him the card. Nico caught it, giving a nod to the man before making his way to the elevator and putting the card in. Just as he remembered, the button for floor 600 appeared and he pressed it. He grimaced at the music. It looks like some things never change.

Nico was still awe-struck every time he visited Olympus. It was even more beautiful and impressive ever since Annabeth had become the architect. Not pausing to take everything in, he hurried to the throne room. Sight-seeing could happen later. With every step that drew him closer to the throne room, that knot of anxiety and dread in the pit of his stomach grew larger and more forceful. By the time he reached the doors, he wanted to turn around and book it back to his cabin. Of course he couldn't do that. He did his best to slip on a cold, empty look that his father is good at. Not a trace of stray emotion could be seen. He is a true son of Hades.

He slipped in to the throne room, intimidated by the fifteen foot Gods, but did not let it show. It never does good to show weakness. Knowing well what to do, he stepped before Zeus and bowed before bowing to each Olympian, including Hestia, who stood in the fires of the Hearth, looking as a child and giving him a gracious smile. She was always his favorite Goddess. To his utter surprise, his father, Hades, was in attendance as well. He gave a deep bow to him. What was wrong that they called his father up from the Underworld? Just as he turned back to Zeus, the King of the Gods began to speak.

"Nico, us Gods have called upon you as we've called upon a few select other demigods. Your efforts in the wars and other acts of valor have impressed us. We believe it is time to recognize some of the greater demigods. None of us will tell which demigods they are, but know you are one of them.'

He took a moment to let his words sink in. Nico was absolutely stunned. He knew by the expression on Zeus' face that it was hard to admit that Nico was one such demigod as he is Hades' son. Slowly, he could feel heat rising to his face and he struggled to keep a blush from painting his pale features red. The God then continued.

"We have decided, in order to better the future of the current demigods and demigods to come, not to mention to stop a repeat of the Titan War from happening, we would like to have those select demigods remain around, with us, as Gods themselves. We hear you are already Heir to the Underworld so this should not be a surprise to you. Godhood is imminent, we are just speeding up the process. All have agreed. The question is, Nico di Angelo, do you accept the Olympian gift of Godhood?"

Nico stood, dumbstruck for a moment. Never in his wildest dreams did he believe he'd be asked to become a God. He opened his mouth, though no words came out. Clearing his throat, he tried again.

"Lord Zeus, I..."

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**Author's Note. Nico _will_ become a God eventually. Question is. God of what? Give me your suggestions and opinions!**

**I was think something as: God of Monsters, Wealth (since his father is God of wealth underground), Souls (since Melinoe is Goddess of ghosts), reincarnation or resurrection, any combination of those, and/or death/ghost related stuff.**

**Which other Demigods should be offered to become a God/dess and what should their answer be?**

**I'm thinking: Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, maybe Jason, Will Solace, Katie, Travis/Connor, Pollux, Clarisse, Leo or Jake, ehh Piper. I would like to get one to represent each God/dess but that seems a bit much to me. Plus, I'm not a very big fan of Piper. At all. So her being a Goddess is very slim to none.**

**The chapters will get longer.**

**Twilight will come in the next chapter. This was just an introduction to get this part out of the way.**

**R&R**

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING. Pjato belongs to Rick Riordan and Twilight belongs to .**


	2. L'ombra

**Disclaimer: I own nothing. Pjato belongs to Rick Riordan and Twilight to **

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_Previously: "[...]The question is, Nico di Angelo, do you accept the Olympian gift of Godhood?"_

_Nico stood, dumbstruck for a moment. Never in his wildest dreams did he believe he'd be asked to become a God. He opened his mouth, though no words came out. Clearing his throat, he tried again._

_"Lord Zeus, I..."_

* * *

The words seemed to get caught, choking him. He bit his lip, unsure of what he wanted to do. Many of the Gods looked upon him in boredom, though some were leaning a bit forward, eyes staring with a forceful intensity. For a moment, Nico was completely overwhelmed, not quite sure even what he was thinking. A grimace marred his stoic expression as he contemplated the pros and cons. He knew he had to hurry as it was easy to tell that Zeus was getting impatient.

Did he want this right now? Sure, he knew that one day he would be a God, heir and prince of the Underworld. His titles remained a mystery to him right now. Still, was he in such a hurry? The reason he had yet to become a God was because he did not feel prepared. Ever since the end of the war with Gaea, after he escaped his prison, his father offered him a place in the kingdom. Now Nico wasn't naive, but he was still wary of his father from previous disagreeable run-ins, but he seen the change in his father. Almost losing him must have changed the God of the Dead's perspective to the disposability of his only son. The last reminder of Nico's mother, _Maria_, and his dearly departed sister, _Bianca. _Even now, thinking of their names sent a pang to his chest. Was he ready to give up his mortal half right now? After an arduous war within his mind, he spoke low, slow and steady.

"I thank you all graciously for this gift. But, I will have to turn it down. I will become a God one day. That day is not today. I don't believe I'm ready quite yet to give up my mortal half."

Zeus rolled his eyes, a bored expression on his face. He sighed heavily and spoke in a drawling, mildly irritated tone.

"So I figured. Thank you, little godling, for wasting our time. As is accustomed, you may have one wish as long as it is within bounds and us Gods agree on it."

With the mentioning of a wish, Nico fidgeted slightly. He actually forgot about the 'one wish' rule. So badly did he want to wish Bianca or his Mother back to life, but he knew that was not within the boundaries of their abilities. It was against the Ancient Laws. So question is, what could he wish for? He felt as if he should wish for something selfless that would be for the 'Greater Good' like Percy, but honestly, Nico couldn't think of anything along those lines. Anything he thought of could easily be obtained when he _did_ become a God. That is, if he survives long enough...

That's when it hit him. He knew exactly what he could wish for that would help him survive without being pointless in the end.

Kneeling, he bowed his head then looked Zeus in the eye. Cold, endless obsidian against sparking, intense blue.

"Lord Zeus, I would like to wish for a way to hide my scent from monsters until I reach Godhood."

There was a low murmur across the gathering of Gods, debating if it was in bounds of their laws. Finally, they deemed it acceptable and Zeus looked at the small demigod.

"So you shall get it. It will come in potion form and you will have to take it regularly, though you can _not_ take too much. The potion will remove your scent for a time being. _However_, if you take too much, after your scent has been diminished, the remainder of the potion will eat away at you Godly blood and kill you. Understand?"

Nico felt his mouth go dry. Great, another thing he has to consume that could kill him without moderation. He nodded, feeling no need to speak. Zeus, with a dark expression on his face, continued.

"Hecate,'

There was a crack of thunder and angry looks passed all the Olympians faces as well as Nico's. He remembered how she sided with Kronos. Hopefully she got a good and thorough punishment. Zeus continued on as if never interrupted, though the disgruntled look never faded.

'-will be delivering you a vial. Once consumed, it will refill itself automatically. Oh, and Nico, we have a little quest for you."

A small flicker of hesitation flashed on Nico's features. A quest? Sure he hadn't had one in a long time and was thirsting for some adventure, but why _him?_

"Artemis and her hunters have come across a stranger sort of monster up in Washington, though they did not approach. They came back to report to me. Seeing as you have a certain _affinity_ with monsters, we have decided to send you on a sort of reconnaissance to see just what they are and if they are a threat. Do not worry about a prophecy or companions as this is just a small task. Do you accept?"

Upon hearing it, Nico's once tensed shoulders sagged with relief. That's it? Cake. He nodded. Besides, it's not like he could say no. Though they may word it as a question, the Gods never like taking 'no' for an answer. With a sigh and a wave of a hand, Zeus finished the meeting.

"Very well. I will send you right there. Your luggage is already waiting in the chosen house-'

Nico resisted the urge to snort. _See?_ They already sent his stuff ahead of him, basically deciding he was going.

'There is no particular deadline for this mission though we expect regular updates. I suspect money is of no issue to you. A fresh supply of ambrosia and nectar is with your luggage, though with this potion I doubt you will have much use for it. If that is all, meeting adjourned and good luck Godling."

Nico had no room to respond and could only catch a glimpse of the odd expression on his father's face before he was teleported away.

Once he landed in his destination he looked around. It was a dilapidated house in the midst of a dense forest. Now, it isn't the ideal home, but for the time being it'll do just fine. One would think that being Gods, they'd give him a decent house but no, they believed they should give them the bare minimum to 'increase their survival instincts and prove their worth.' Honestly, Nico thought they were either too lazy or too cheap to conjure up a nice house. Instead, they would prefer to stick him in some rickety old house right out of a horror movie.

He stepped inside, coughing at the amount of dust and swatting away the webs in front of him. It was completely dark in the house, but being a Son of Hades with control over shadows and blessings by two of the deities who held domain of the dark, he had pretty good night vision. To him, it was as if seeing in a perfectly lit room. Just as he was told, his luggage was sitting in the center of the room. Black leather with silver lining, a silver handle and the mark of his father, a helm, on the front of each suitcase. Placed neatly on top was a map and a vial of amethyst liquid. That must be the potion. He'd look at what was packed for him later.

He picked up the vial. It was warm to the touch, but then again nearly everything was warm to him. Nico's skin was constantly ice cold despite the temperature. After uncorking the vial with a small _'pop', _he held it up to his nose and sniffed, taken aback by the sweet stench. It was nearly nauseating to him. _'Oh well, bottoms up.'_ He tilted the glass back and swallowing the potion all at once, cringing at the taste. It was not as sweet as it smelled. It tasted more like medicine. A tingling sensation crept over his skin and he watched with mild interest as the vial refilled itself with the viscous purple liquid. After that, he looked around and frowned at the state of the house. If he was going to be sleeping here, he would not be sleeping in this filth. Yeah, his cabin was completely decked in creepy bones and the likes, but that doesn't mean he likes dusty, cobweb-infested, decrepit places. Stereotypical much? With a sigh, he went to work.

It took a few hours to search the house, clearing it of offending webs and clearing out some debris before he felt the pangs of hunger set in. It was then that he realized that not only did he not have any form of nourishment, but he didn't have any furniture, save some grungy, unstable old furniture that was in the rooms. Maybe he can buy some and use Hermes Express to ship them here. That seemed like a good enough plan. Pulling out the map, he spanned it across a dusty and rickety table, locating the nearest shopping center. It seemed Port Angeles was his pick. He stuffed the map in an inner pocket of his aviator jacket and walked toward the set of luggage. If he was going out, he'd be damned if he wasn't going out prepared. He may have taken that potion, but, call him crazy, he didn't exactly trust Hecate.

Quickly reading over the engravings on the luggage, he found one labeled _Όπλα__,_ or 'Weapons' in English. He grabbed the suitcase and opened it, feeling a cold sensation pass over his hands. Shadows crept up his fingers as if identifying he was Nico, or at the least, a child of Hades. Inside were more weapons than he thought possible that could fit inside, namely swords, but their were daggers, throwing knives, two spears, a bow and a quiver of arrows, and a scythe, reminiscent of the one owned by Thanatos, not Kronos.

With a look of awed wonder, he eyed each stygian weapon. Everything was obsidian and stygian with various gold, silver, and gem enhancements. Even the arrows were obsidian with stygian heads. Never did he think he'd use that bow and arrow. Percy wasn't the only terrible archer. It wasn't that Nico was quite _that_ bad, he just never really practiced, preferring his powers, sword and daggers.

He grabbed two daggers with a holster and strapped them to his waist, then a set of throwing knives with their own holster, strapped that around his shoulder and torso so the daggers ran diagonally from his left shoulder to the bottom of his right ribs. He need not worry about his sword or armor as he still had his crown-hat-armor on and his sword was still stationed in his skull ring. Call it over-kill, but as said, he didn't exactly trust Hecate. For all he knew, she could have given him a potion to increase the potency of his scent and attract more monsters that way. He wouldn't put it past the bitter Goddess. After all, he was a leading force on the side that brought her lord down.

With a final once over, he looked at the map again and visualized Port Angeles and shadow-traveled to an alley in the city. To his luck, which isn't much, the alley was devoid of life, spare a stray cat, which, upon his arrival, let out a frightened yowl and ran quickly away.

Strolling casually from the dead end, he glanced around and spotted a McDonalds nearby. A small, wry grin tipped his lips. His stomach growled, but a sight in the corner of his eye made his heart skip and stomach churn violently. A flash of bronze and fur, flaming hair, pale skin. _Empousa._ He ground his teeth as he noticed the _empousa_ attempting to seduce a young man, her true nature hidden by the mist. She had yet to notice Nico, and if he didn't act fast, that man may very well become just another victim. Fingering his ring, he made his way toward her at a brisk walking pace. However, soon enough, she caught sight of Nico.

Brilliant red eyes seemed to glow. A howling hiss escaping from her fanged jaws. This monster was not stupid. She knew who Nico was, what reign he now held over monsters. With an angered and starving look, she turned and fled, her celestial bronze leg and goat hoof clomping heavily on the pavement. With a curse, Nico raced after her, tuning out the citizens. Let the mist deal with them. He shoved passed them, earning angry yells and protests en route. Finally, he reached a clear stretch of sidewalk and ran as fast as he could, which with years of physical training, was decently fast. He didn't notice the doorway to the coffee shop opening, or the female walking out until it was too late. She was busy on her phone and didn't notice the lithe, dark figure barreling right toward her. Upon collision, both people went flying. Her drink, whatever it may have been, sprayed everywhere.

Renesmee had just finished shopping, her bags laying locked inside her car. Despite the fact she wasn't particularly fond of lattes, she stopped in a cafe to get one. It was an odd urge, really. Rarely did she feel the desire for human food or drink. She preferred blood but still dined on human cuisine every now again to appease her parents, Edward and Bella, and her imprint, Jacob Black.

At the thought of that particular being, she grimaced mildly. Don't get her wrong, she loved Jake with every fiber of her undying being, but in a sisterly way. Everyone looked at the two as if waiting for wedding invitations. It irritated her, to be quite honest. He's her best friend, her big brother, her crying shoulder, but definitely _not_ her love interest. She just couldn't look at him that way. She knew that he wanted it to be more, but didn't push her. As she was his imprint, he'd do anything and be anything for her. Every other wolf and their imprint were involved romantically, aside from Claire and Quil as Claire is only twelve, but they acted like she was next in line to start dating Jacob.

Maybe it was the small streak of rebelliousness inherited from her parents or just simply her emotions, but she didn't _want _to date Jake! She wasn't ready for that, no matter what anybody thought. She grew up with him baby-sitting her, playing with her, watching over her and protecting her. It would take a lot more than her growing up to make her fall for him, not that he's bad or anything. It, the spark, just wasn't there.

She scowled as she waited in line for her order to be taken. Her parents had already talked to her about going out with Jake and their future as if it were already planned out before her. What sort of life is that where you couldn't decide for yourself?No life, that's what! A flare of defiance roared within her. She would show them that her life isn't planned out like a little fantasy in her head. No, _she's _the only one in control of her fate. Let them try and change it! _'From now on, I'm not going to let them control me. I won't stand for it. It's my life to live, not theirs.'_

A small part of her felt bad for wanting to disobey the wills of her parents, but she just couldn't let them decide what she was going to do, who she was going to date, and God forbid, _who she's going to marry._ The cashier had to snap her out of her reverie, repeating 'Excuse me miss' until she noticed. She gave a shy, embarrassed grin, a blush creeping up on her rosy features, contrasting with her pale skin. The cashier was, as her mother put it, 'dazzled'.

Her latte was done quickly and she made her way towards the door. The vibration of her cellphone in her pocket alerted her that she received a text. Pulling it out, she started to read it. It's from Jake. She rolled her eyes. _'What a surprise.'_ Instantly, she felt bad for acting that way even though no one was around to witness it. It wasn't his fault he imprinted on her.

She didn't get too far into the text before she felt a forceful impact slam into her, sending both her phone and drink flying. Her hair, face, and clothes were splattered with the cool drink but that didn't bother her. What did was what hit her with such a force. With her being half-vampire, it was harder to knock her off her feet than a normal human so whoever did it had to be exceptionally strong. She was immediately up, chocolate eyes darting to the male on the ground.

He seemed to be just as stunned as she was. A string of curses were muttered in multiple languages. She could easily understand the English and Italian. Faintly she caught what she thought was Latin and possibly Greek, but she disregarded that. That was a dead language, even her family didn't know it fluently. Carlisle knew quite a bit of Latin, but not to the extent this kid did.

With just as much grace and litheness as any vampire she's seen, the guy was on his feet, apologizing and reaching in his pocket. She just responded with a simple 'It's ok.', a little distracted with his appearance and display of prowess and power thus far. As he nimbly worked his wallet, she took the moment to quickly analyze him. His skin was as pale as her family's and felt just as cold from what she gather from the impact. He had shaggy, ink black hair hidden mostly under a black beanie, an aviator jacket, and the rest of his clothing was black. She got the distinct impression he wasn't quite the peppy, sunshine sort from his style. On his finger was a silver skull ring with intimidating ruby eyes and, if she wasn't mistaken, he seemed to have knives strapped to him. Maybe it's a new fashion?

She was snapped out of her analysis by him shoving her a bill, muttering something about 'paying for a new drink and dry cleaning', only glancing at her face for a split second. Now, Renesmee isn't vain. One couldn't be further from the truth assuming that, but the general reaction she got from humans with a skip of the heart, an increase in the pulse, widening of the eyes and general awe and lust. But no, not from him.

His eyes were the blackest voids she'd ever seen. Blacker than a nightmare. They seemed to be filled to the brim with either genius or insanity, but she wasn't quite sure which. They pierced her, as if seeing in to her soul. There was no indication that he was impressed with her looks and that made her a little self-conscious. Despite being part-vampire, she couldn't help the feeling of fear and dread from washing over her instilled by the being before her. There was something about him that made her mortal half tremble and her vampiric half hiss in trepidation. A look flashed across his face, indescribable, before he turned and ran away just as nimbly as she suspected he would.

Before he got out of her range, she _knew_ she heard him curse to himself quietly. _'Gods damned vampires. κωλο-Έμπουσα δεν μπορώ μείνει νεκρό!__'_ The last part she didn't quite understand, but the first part made her pale and her stomach drop. How on Earth did he know? If it wasn't for his obvious heartbeat, she would have suspected him to be a vampire himself. Maybe he was a halfbreed like her...But then why would he be talking about vampires that way?

A frown creased her porcelain-like features as she stared at his swiftly retreating figure before eyeing the bill in her hand. Delicate brows rose in surprise. A fifty for a drink and dry-cleaning? Either that guy was generous or just stupid. With a shrug, she shoved it in her pocket, now growing conscious of the stares of watching people and the sticky mess all over her. She scooped up her phone and made her way to her car. Of course she could tail the mysterious guy, but she didn't know who or _what_ he was so that was a flat out bad idea. Renesmee thought it best to go inform her family. Maybe they'd know what was going on.

Meanwhile, Nico was currently chasing the monster, a dangerous look on his sharp features. The girl he had run in-to was exceptionally beautiful, but after seeing Aphrodite and her crew, it wasn't anything too amazing. Her aura and her scent set 'monster' alarms off in his head, though he was busy chasing down the Empousa, cursing it in every language he knew before pinning it down with the shadows it so foolishly stepped in. A swift swipe of his Stygian blade rid the world of another monster. His sword thrummed and vibrated with the power and essence it sucked up. With each creature vanquished and soul devoured by his sword, it gained more power, as all Stygian weapons do.

Now, onto food and debating this new breed of monster. As he made his way to McDonald's, a cold realization washed over him. Was that girl one of the monsters? Being a Son of Hades with a domain over Monsters, he could easily identify monsters when near them and she definitely set off his sensors, but only slightly, as if she was a weak monster. Maybe it'll be easier than he thought. _'Yeah, right. I'm a demigod. Nothing's ever easy.'_

* * *

**Author's Note: There you have it. Chapter two. Their relationship will build. It's not just going to be an 'ohemgee, I luv u!' sort of thing. That stuff doesn't happen. Ever. And, as said, I don't particularly like fluff. Keep that in mind. Nico will remain a demigod for the time being, **_**but **_**that will change eventually. Also, he isn't implying vampires are weak. Remember, Nessie is only half-vampire, which makes her less potent and dangerous than a regular vampire.**

**Coming up next on 'Shadow of your Smile': Renesmee talks and shows her family her experience and thoughts with her nifty little power. An investigation for Nico ensues.**

**Nico starts his own little monster-hunt for Renesmee and her kind. **

**When they meet...what will happen? Find out next time!**


	3. Del Tuo

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING. Pjato belongs to Rick Riordan and Twilight belongs to **

* * *

_Previously: 'Of course she could tail the mysterious guy, but she didn't know who or what he was so that was a flat out bad idea. Renesmee thought it best to go inform her family. Maybe they'd know what was going on.'_

_'[...]a cold realization washed over him. Was that girl one of the monsters? Being a Son of Hades with a domain over Monsters, he could easily identify monsters when near them and she definitely set off his sensors, but only slightly, as if she was a weak monster. Maybe it'll be easier than he thought. 'Yeah, right. I'm a demigod. Nothing's ever easy.' '_

* * *

Nico frowned, picking at the fries currently sitting on his new table.A jar of Greek fire not far from him. He used it to sacrifice to the Gods, per usual. Just as he intended, he got some food and some furniture. He didn't go overboard as he wouldn't be here for too long, but just the basics for living. A table to eat off of, a chair, and a bed. He didn't need a fridge, he could just go out to eat and one thing the Gods were merciful about was that the shower at least worked. Why unpack his stuff into dressers and the such? He'd be moving constantly anyway. As said, the bare minimum.

For once, he was glad the Gods existed because otherwise he would have never had a way to ship all his new purchases to this house. Then again, if the Gods didn't exist, he probably wouldn't be in this house to begin with. Hades, he'd probably be dead, or at the very least about eighty-eight years old. His mother and sister would still be alive, Hazel would have had a good life, everything would be different.

Still, Nico actually enjoyed being a demigod. It gave him something to live for, to believe in. He snapped himself out of that train of thought. There were much more important things to contemplate over than his insight on life. Like, for instance, the strange breed of monster around here and that girl he suspected had something to do with them. Questions is: What was her connection? She could very well be a monster, but for some reason, she seemed diluted, not quite a full-blown monster. His radar went off, but not fully. It was odd.

With a sigh, he continued to eat his fill. Once done, he disposed of the garbage in an old bin he found laying around the house. Then he grabbed the map and spread it across the table once again, studying it, trying to formulate a plan. A grimace contorted his sharp, pallid features for a moment. Right now would be the perfect time to be a child of Athena or at least have one handy, like Annabeth for instance. _'Hey, Lady Athena, some help would be highly appreciated right now.' _

As he expected, there was no response, no words of wisdom or advice. Of course, he could always IM Annabeth or one of her siblings, but he didn't want to hassle them. This is his mission. Besides, he hates asking for help from anyone. It made him feel weak and incompetent, made him feel like he was in their debt. Not to mention he'd never hear the end of it from his father. Nobody ever helped Hades, so Hades expected Nico to be able to do everything himself. Nico couldn't blame him. He shared similar feelings.

Deep, onyx eyes scrutinized the map. Where would monsters most likely hide? His jaw clenched. _'Well, that depends on the type of monster. Oh wait, I don't know what type of monster they are!'_ At his snide, sarcastic inner monologue, Nico let a heavy sigh out of his nose. All he had to go on was that there was a cluster in Forks and what he gathered from the girl in Port Angeles.

Some speculate that Nico is a bit unstable, a bit crazy, but that's not true. When Nico ran in to the girl, he could have sworn he seen images flash inside his mind of people he never met before. One being was a rather tall, russet skinned man with brown eyes, smiling affectionately, though there was a clear jokers' undertone to his face. Who was that? He assumed it was from touching the girl. Could monsters do that? Implant thoughts in ones' head? That's a scary thought.

He bit his lower lip, trying to come up with a solid plan. Unlike Percy, he did not just go in swinging, hoping for the best. Nico actually liked to have a plan as fool-proof as possible, and a couple back-up plans because his original plan hardly ever works right.

He could search the shadows for them like he did for Percy, but he didn't know what they were like to even begin searching. From the girl, he got impressive beauty, a power to implant ideas, sturdy in structure, and pale skin. Yeah, that narrows it down. Then, as he thought of how to locate them, an idea popped in to his head. He felt like facepalming for being so utterly oblivious.

The Hunters are the ones who found the monsters. He could just IM Thalia and ask for clues! Rolling his eyes at his own bout of daftness, he fished a golden drachma from his pocket. Now, to find a rainbow. He couldn't summon a fine mist to create a rainbow and he didn't have a prism. Unless one was packed for him...

Turning to his bags, he found one with equipment he might need, including ambrosia, nectar, Medea's SPF 50,000 Sunscreen, etc. He praised every God and Goddess that came to his mind when he found the clear prism tucked neatly in the corner. Taking it out, he quickly set it up on the table, angling it to catch the light of the room and creating a rainbow across the smooth, faux-wooden surface. One thing he learned about this place is that it's almost always raining. Even Nico liked some sun every now and again.

Flipping the coin into the rainbow and reciting the incantation, he watched the drachma disappear.

"Oh Iris, goddess of the Rainbow, accept my offering. Show me Thalia Grace, with the Hunters of Artemis."

There was flicker, then the black, spiky hair came in to view. Thalia was practicing fighting with the other Hunters before she became aware of the message. Electric blues eyes seemed to crackle as she stared at him, finally recognizing the dark figure.

"Nico! What's wrong?"

Nico snorted. She hadn't changed, at least appearance wise, not that that surprised him or anything. She still looked fifteen with the same hardcore punk look, black make-up, band pins, combat boots, the works. Nico cracked a grin.

"Nice to see you too Thals. What makes you think something's wrong?"

Thalia rolled her eyes at him as if he just asked an inane question. The other Hunters had stopped sparring and were staring at the conversing duo with dark, disgusted looks. Ah, just as he remembered.

"You never IM me, or anyone for that matter. I'm surprised you'd contact a Hunter of all people."

Nico gave a simple shrug, accepting her explanation. It's true, he hardly IM'ed people. He preferred working out his own problems. Besides, why waste drachmas when you could simply shadow travel to the person? However, Nico wasn't stupid enough to just shadow travel into the Hunter's campsite, _especially_ when they're sparring. That's warranting a death wish right there.

"Yeah, you got a point. I'm on a mission to find out about those monsters you guys found up in Forks, Washington. Can you spare any hints as to where they are, what they look like, anything that will help me would be great."

A devious grin pulled up Thalia's lips and he could practically feel the energy rising around her. He grimaced. For a second, he believed she would just give him some help and let it go, but that's not Thalia's style.

"Well, I _could_ help you out. But what would I get out of it?"

Nico gave out a meek grin.

"The gratitude and love of your favorite cousin?"

Thalia snorted, rolling her eyes again and folding her arms across her chest.

"Sorry, not useful. Besides, who said you were my favorite?"

Nico put a hand on his heart, pretending to be hurt, a wounded expression on his face.

"Ouch, Thals. That hurt."

Thalia smirked and he thought he could hear her mutter something along the lines of _'yeah right, I can make it hurt though.'_ She then straightened, sending him another devilish smile.

"Well, I'll help _if_ you admit that I'm better than you in every aspect _and_ that girls are superior to boys."

Nico snorted, rolling his eyes at her this time around. Yeah, he _definitely_ didn't see that one coming. It wasn't a hard thing to say, he really needed the information, but all the Hunters were getting closer, smirks drawing up on their faces. Oh they just love to humiliate guys in any way they can whenever they can. With a heavy sigh, Nico spoke in childish, sarcastic tones.

"Thalia, you are _so _much better than me, Nico, in _every_ aspect and you girls are _so_ much more superior to us silly boys. There, happy? Now cough up the information."

They were all grinning and he knew he wouldn't live this one down for a long time. Thalia tapped her chin with a finger, as if contemplating.

"Hmm...That didn't seem very sincere..."

Nico scowled, a dark look on his intense features and he sent her his best glare, causing the girls to flinch slightly. His glare was only second to Hades' himself. She sighed before speaking as if exasperated with him.

"Okay okay, don't go crazy on me now. Let's see...We were making our way back from Canada, hunting down some rogue Laistrygonian Giants terrorizing residents of a town when our wolves came across an odd scent trail. We followed it and hid in the trees, using our cloaking devices to stay hidden, when we seen two of them. They were quick as lightning, they seemed to be abnormally strong, their skin was as pale as yours and their eyes were black. They seemed to be hunting. What surprised us was that they hunted and, we're pretty sure, drank the blood of several deer and a bear. One was very burly with short black hair, and the other reminded me of Aphrodite with her looks. Long blonde hair, perfect figure, the works. Both had that sort of beauty. Our cloaking devices worked because they didn't notice us. We were going to shoot them, but Artemis told us that we were to report to Zeus instead as we haven't run in to beings like this yet. They reminded us of Empousa, just not quite as crazy. We found them in the woods about ten miles north of the La Push reservation boundaries. That's all I got. Good luck Zombie Dude."

Nico nodded, remembering key hints to write down later. A hint of a smile crept up his features upon hearing the nickname given to him.

"Thanks a lot. See ya later Pinecone Face. Oh, and by the way,'

He gave her the same devilish grin she gave him earlier before continuing.

'I was lying. I'm so much cooler and guys rock more."

Just as she was about to retort, something sharp and witty no doubt, he swiped his hand through the message, disconnecting it. He laughed to himself silently. It's been a while since he spoke to someone he actually liked and it felt good. The only ones he could really act silly around were Percy and Thalia. Annabeth slightly intimidated him and she was a bit too serious for him to be goofy. How Percy did it, he would never know.

Now that he had his information, he quickly grabbed some pen and a paper, jotting down a few things in Ancient Greek before shoving it in his pocket. The note read something along the lines of:

_Odd scent. Lightning fast. Super strong. Pale skin. Black eyes. Blood sucking. Vampire? Empousa? Unnatural beauty. Approx. 10 mi. N. from La Push_

He quickly eyed the map over once more, pinpointing the Native American reservation. A pale finger traced upward a little to a thicket of woods by a clearing. Quickly remembering the layout, he closed his eyes. Might as well start in the clearing, huh?

* * *

Nessie arrived home, still coated in the sticky liquid. First thing's first, she's cleaning herself up. She knew she should go straight to her parents and show her what she seen and heard, but she knew they'd force her to show everyone else and then she'd have to sit through a boring meeting. No, she definitely wanted to get comfortable first.

As she neared the garage, she started thinking about what she purchased, doing her best _not_ to think of the boy, though that was hard. You ever try to _not_ think of something. Yeah, it makes it impossible because you start thinking of it. With a frustrated sigh, she gave up and parked her car in the garage between her Aunt Rosie's red BMW and Uncle Jazz's motorcycle.

Just as she figured, her dad was instantly at her car door, looking at her with an intense expression, obviously having read her thoughts. Clenching her jaw, she grabbed her bags and exited the car, facing Edward. He stood, arms folded in a tense manner across his chest. Right when he opened his mouth to speak, she interrupted, a pleading look on her face that she knew he couldn't deny.

"I'll tell you and everyone the story. Can I just get cleaned up first? I don't like having dried, sticky latte all over me."

He frowned slightly but relented. How could he deny her? She's his baby, the miracle he never believed he could have. Her and his Bella are his very life. She grinned, giving him a hug before speeding in to the house to take a shower.

Edward ran a hand through his copper mess of hair. He hoped that Renesmee would be nowhere near as unlucky as her mother. So far, she was doing well, but, then again there's that boy that ran into her today. From what he got from her mind, he was definitely _not_ a normal human being. It frightened him, quite frankly. He didn't know who or what that boy is. Could he be a threat to his family? What if he was another halfbreed? They'd definitely have to confer on this as a family.

It wasn't long until Renesmee was done in the shower, dressed and dried. She tried to take her time, not looking forward to sitting through another long meeting. What she knew about these meetings were that her family usually always got divided in what they believed they should do and then an argument would ensue, causing her to get irritated, and then they'd settle on something easy, which could have been done in the first place. It was a big run-around of a power match. She predicted Aunt Rose, Uncle Jazz, Dad, Jake and Uncle Em would go on the offense, wanting to get rid of 'the problem' while Mom, Aunt Alice, Grandma, and Grandpa would go on the defense, preferring to figure out what was really going on before taking action. Either way, she wasn't too enthusiastic to be the epicenter of all this.

Knowing she couldn't delay it anymore, she made her way to the dining room, where she knew she could find everyone seated around a table. This became their pseudo-conference room since only two people actually ate, unless the other wolves visited. As usual, she sat between her mom and dad with Jake hovering right behind her. She resisted the urge to roll her eyes. It was so predictable. _Everything_ is so predictable!

Jasper eyed Renesmee, picking up her irritated and exacerbated aura. He relayed the information to Edward, who then caught his eye in a grim manner. Jasper wasn't sure exactly what it meant, but from the uneasy feeling he picked up from Edward, it wasn't too good. Perhaps it related to what they were here to talk about? With subtle strength, he calmed the nervous air. The tension in his 'niece's' shoulders eased.

Carlisle, sitting at the head of the table as customary, began speaking. His voice was just as calm and soothing as always.

"Alright. Edward has told me that Renesmee had a rather strange run-in while out shopping today. Instead of guessing as to what happened, Renesmee, would you be able to relay your story to us?"

Resisting the urge to sigh, Nessie nodded. She started with her mother, not bothering with her father because while showing others, he could just look in to their minds. As she showed everyone, she got a mixed but clear response. Some were worried, others intrigued. Everyone, however, was uneasy. Already they were dividing, just as she knew they would. _Predictable._

Carlisle settled down the group as they began arguing fiercely back and forth. With a look toward the ex-Civil War soldier, a sense of peace settled over everyone. Her 'grandfather' gave a nod of thanks to Jasper before speaking. It was clear he was trying to appease everyone while doing what was right for the coven.

"Now this is indeed an odd revelation. It's clear by the heartbeat that he's not a vampire, though his strength, temperature, and appearance seems to say he's not quite human either. Perhaps a halfbreed? What he said was quite intriguing. I could understand nearly all but a bit of Latin and the other, I believe Ancient Greek. It's astounding he is familiar with the language as I've never met or heard of someone speaking that dead language so fluently. I know some of you would like to go head on and dispose of this 'threat','

A chorus of 'yes's and 'no's rang through the room. In an effort to keep his voice above the noise and sure it was heard, Carlisle spoke over the clamor until they settled down, in which he effectively lowered his voice back to normal.

"However, I think it would be best to figure out who this young man is and, in turn, what he is. Perhaps he will take the diplomatic approach with good graces."

Both Rosalie and Jasper snorted at that. Sometimes, they seemed more like twins than they knew.

"If we find he is a threat to our safety, then you can take care of it as seen fit. But only, and I mean _only_ with concrete evidence that he is a threat. Unnecessary slaughter is unacceptable. I think Jasper could handle the situation from here and come up with a 'battle plan', right?"

As the head of the clan looked toward the scarred vampire, the empath gave a firm, affirmative nod. This was, after all, his forte. Renesmee watched and listened to her uncle speak. It always amazed her that the Volturi never asked him to be part of the Guard. His powers, though subtle, are incredibly useful, not to mention his knowledge of warfare and battle. Don't get her wrong, she didn't want her uncle to join the Volturi. Ever. That doesn't mean that she couldn't imagine how amazing he would be and how stupid the Volturi are for not realizing it.

Imagine, at the stand-off when she was a baby, if Jasper were on the Volturi's side. They were looking to provoke her family's side into fighting. If Jasper were there, he could provoke them into an unintelligible frenzy, no sweat. He could probably beat half the witnesses gathered as well with his experiences as second-in-command to Maria in the territory wars way back when. Honestly, could the Volturi get more blind to a great warrior? All they wanted were the more obvious gifts and that's why they could never win against her family. Imbeciles.

Edward smirked at his daughter's train of thought. He knew that, despite not having as close a bond to Jasper as she does with Rose or Alice, she greatly respected and looked up to Jasper. She admired him highly, like an idol almost. Edward had to admit that he was extremely glad he was on their side. Even with the ability to read his mind and Alice's ability to predict his every move, they could only tie with Jasper in a fight. Imagine if they didn't have that advantage.

Again, he was glad that vampires could focus on more than one thing at once. A part of him had been paying attention to Jasper's plan, another had been listening to the thoughts around him, while another was going over different scenarios and thoughts himself. The plan was simple. Go to Port Angeles, pick up the scent and find the guy. They could try the diplomatic approach, ask him some questions, and if things go South, well then they were ready to fight. As they left, ready to split and search, none expected him to be able to elude a vampire.

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**Author's Note: Well, good to know I got two reviews, six alerts and one favorite. Oh don't worry, Nico is half-God. When I think of half-God, I think power. Especially a child of Hades. Technically, all the vampires are dead. Who is Hades? God of the Underworld. Who's in the Underworld? **_**The Dead.**_** Major kickass-ness coming soon enough.**

**For now, they're going to play cat-and-mouse, hunting each other down. As I said, the relationship will build slowly. Renesmee is going on a rebellious streak. Who wouldn't? They're basically planning her life and everything is predictable. Call it the 'teenage phase'. **

**I'm on a roll with chapters. Expect chapter four very soon today.**


	4. Sorriso

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING. Pjato belongs to Rick Riordan and Twilight belongs to SMeyer.**

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_Previously: "He quickly eyed the map over once more, pinpointing the Native American reservation. A pale finger traced upward a little to a thicket of woods by a clearing. Quickly remembering the layout, he closed his eyes. Might as well start in the clearing, huh?"_

_" The plan was simple. Go to Port Angeles, pick up the scent and find the guy. They could try the diplomatic approach, ask him some questions, and if things go South, well then they were ready to fight. As they left, ready to split and search, none expected him to be able to elude a vampire. "_

* * *

Nico grinned a wide, manic grin as the shadows engulfed him. The cold tendrils slithered across his stalwart frame in an almost affectionate, caressing manner. He was sucked in to the darkness and he could feel himself moving faster than the speed of light. Never would he get tired of traveling at such a bone-chilling velocity.

Just as he imagined, he ended up in the shadow of a pine tree near the edge of a forest. A glance over of the area revealed no monsters, just nature. A warm, tingling sensation crept over his body. He frowned mildly, looking at himself. It took a moment for him to realize what that was. His potion had worn off and he forgot to bring the vial with him. He'll learn for next time and now he has all the more reason to hurry up. He walked around, letting his gut tell him where to go. One thing demigods are quick to learn is to never ignore your gut instinct. It's usually always right.

He was brought to a inconspicuous upheaval of Earth. Even if he weren't the son of Hades, he could tell something was buried there. Death radiated from it, but the tenor it took was not that of a human. It was definitely an animal. Now, he was ready to leave said animal buried, but he remembered Thalia telling him something about them hunting animals. A quick sweep of his foot dispatched a mound of dirt and revealed brown fur caked with mud beneath.

With cautious motions, he removed more dirt, finding it to be a grizzly, just as Thalia had mentioned. He got to the head of the bear. It's eyes were wide, pupils dilated and whites showing. This bear was definitely terrified at the time of death. A frown creased his lips. What scared the bear? Well, obviously the monsters. No normal human could wrestle a wild grizzly and drink its blood.

That's when he also remembered that she did tell him they drank all the animals' blood. Gripping the muzzle, he turned it left, then right before spotting an area of slick fur and he was absolutely certain there was a smattering of blood. Some of the fur was missing, revealing human teeth marks. His brows raised at that. _'Human? I thought vampires had fangs, if they're even vampires.'_ He was almost certain that's what they were. What else drinks blood?

He snorted to himself. Stupid question. A lot of monsters do. He inspected the wound a little closer. It was clear they bit right down to the artery. It was severed. Nico could see that through the torn wound. Gingerly, he set the head back down before looking for other clues. A movement of the paw revealed broken claws and clearly shattered bones. Whatever hit it was powerful, that's for certain. He grimaced as he stood, wiping the dirt off his hands and brushing off his hands before covering the bear back up. It was obvious the monsters didn't want others to know what they were doing. They could do a better job but hey, Nico wasn't complaining. It was making his job much easier.

Closing his eyes, he let his power over monsters to come to the forefront of his mind. He focused on trying to find any trace of monster nearby. Opening his eyes, he grinned. It was almost a dangerous, deranged look. Thanks to his rise in ranks in the Underworld, he could see trails left by monsters, almost like seeing heat trails with thermal vision. There were two distinct paths and many faded ones. They twisted erratically around the clearing. He followed the two strongest paths, attempting to trace where they most recently went.

To his surprise, it was a little bit of a trip through the woods and he found himself shadow traveling further ahead to save time. It was wearing on him and he'd definitely need a little ambrosia soon enough, but for now, he was hot on this trail.

Suddenly, it was like an explosion of trails. They were _everywhere._ He knew he reached their home base. With a blink and a little effort, the trails disappeared. He got a mild headache from using multiple powers extensively. A small wave of nausea hit him, but he forced it back. No time to get weak. Not here, not now.

He stepped to the edge of another clearing. This time, however, a large white mansion stood prominent in his sight. Large panels of glass stood in place for walls in several areas. Again, he was surprised. He wasn't exactly expecting to find a mansion, not this nice and definitely not this homey. Maybe they killed the original owners? He wouldn't be shocked about that. After all, Kronos, the Titan Lord of Time, took over a cruise ship, did Gods know what to the passengers and crew, and stayed there for a bit.

At the moment, he couldn't sense any monsters near by, though he could tell quite a few stayed here. He stood at the edge, weary about his surroundings, debating the best course of action. When would he get another chance like this to infiltrate the enemies' hideout? In a snap decision, he shadow traveled into the coif house.

Inside was very well styled, like the houses one sees inside magazines. To him, Hades' palace was far better and nothing compared to Olympus, but for a mortal building, it was beautiful. A bit too cheery and light for Nico's taste, but beautiful nonetheless. Annabeth would love the architecture, though he figured it wouldn't be all too exciting for her since she's gone on to 'bigger and better buildings'.

He snapped himself out of his odd train of thought and immediately set to work inspecting the house. There were a lot of pictures. One he immediately recognized as the girl he ran in to at the coffee shop and two seemed to fit the description Thalia gave. Big and burly, short dark hair, pale skin. Long blonde hair, perfect figure, unnatural beauty. Except, their eyes were gold in all the pictures, though they varied in shade occasionally.

The others depicted a blonde haired man who could easily pass as an actor wearing a doctor's coat and a friendly, compassionate smile. Next to him was a motherly looking, caramel-haired female. Then there was a copper haired teenager who had a crooked grin with his arm wrapped around a chocolate haired girl. That girl from the coffee shop was standing in front of them, a goofy look on her face. She had similar copper hair as the guy, though hers was curlier. There were pictures of a honey blonde haired man with an intense, penetrating stare and stoic features, though the faintest hint of a smirk curled the edge of his lip with a buoyant small female. She reminded Nico of a pixie or a nymph with spiky black hair and an exuberant, ostentatious smile. Finally, there was a picture that made Nico double take. It had that girl again, but this time she was with a russet skinned man with black hair, brown eyes, and a devious smile. It was the man who's image popped in to his head when he ran in to her. So he wasn't just imagining things!

He took a mental note of all of them. Everyone of them but the Native American looking guy and the coffee shop girl, so she's been dubbed, had the same pale, abnormally perfect features and ocher eyes. He stepped away and began looking around more. No time to waste on staring at the pictures. There was nothing too intriguing downstairs, though they did have a nice collection of cars.

As he sprinted up the staircase, he momentarily paused as an odd wall hanging caught his eye. There were rows upon rows of graduation caps. All sorts and colors. Either they ate a lot of high school graduates, there were a lot of graduating monsters, or they had way too much time on their hands. The former and the latter seemed the most reasonable. Without wasting anymore precious time staring at that, he kept going.

The first room he got to was lined with cd's of all sorts, a large bed with a black iron rose headboard, a couch, and plush carpeting. Everything was spotless. Doing a quick, thorough look around, he deduced this was the copper headed guy's room as there were pictures of him, chocolate haired girl, and coffee shop girl everywhere as well as papers neatly stacked with the name 'Edward Cullen' on the top. Picking up a photo, on the back in perfectly scripted ink was _'Edward, Bella, and Renesmee - going to visit Amazon Coven 2014' . _That was just last year. After looking over one other picture with 'Edward' and the brown haired girl, Nico deduced that she was, in fact, Bella and the mini-Edward was Renesmee. Heh. Funny name. He stole a sheet of blank paper and wrote down:

_Copper guy - Ed. Cullen._

_Choco. girl - Bella Cullen._

_Coffee shop girl - Renesmee Cullen._

He shoved the paper in his pocket before glancing around once more. His gut was telling him to hurry the Hades up. Even though the house was surprisingly clean for a monster's, this room seemed unused for some time. A fine film of dust layered itself on a table by the bed. Seeing nothing else useful, he quickly moved to the next room, repeating the process and gathering names to faces.

Once he reached the final room, his brows arched once more. Above the frame was an antique wooden cross. It seemed original and hand-carved. Aren't vampires anti-cross and all that? Then again, these could be a different sort of monster or even a different sort of vampire. Look at _empousa_, they're some of the original vampires and garlic is _definitely_ not going to destroy them. If only it were that simple.

He finished his investigation and made his way back downstairs. These creatures have yet to cease to amaze him. In the final bedroom, there were medical textbooks and obvious doctor apparatuses spread across a desk. Could one be a doctor? He didn't doubt it. It wasn't odd to find a monster as a doctor, drugging up demigods so their natural senses were dulled and they become easy prey. However, with the vast amount of books and personal writings, this guy seemed a bit more into it than the usual monster.

Regardless, he had yet to find any weapons. Sure, in the room of, he believes, Alice and Jasper, there were authentic Civil War guns and the such, but that's about it. The deadliest thing, with those aside, are the knives in the kitchen. Nico even went so far as to reach out into the shadows and search for hidden rooms, but nothing. What sort of monsters don't have weapons? Hades, telkhines, the pathetic dog-seal things had weapons!

Nico was actually growing frustrated that he couldn't figure these creatures out first try. They just got more and more complex the more he searched. Maybe they took all their weapons with them? Usually they had spares laying around or _some_ sign that they're monsters, be it a Lil' Demons lunchbox or a Monster Doughnut box laying around. No, not these ones. _Nothing._ It's like they had no clue they were even monsters! Styx, he found back packs with homework in it in multiple rooms! He knows some pose as teachers, but hardly students and none cared enough to actually _do_ their homework.

With a disgruntled sigh, he rubbed his temples. He'll have to think this over more and report to the Gods soon. Just as he opened his eyes and was preparing to leave, a thickening of shadows in front of him put him on guard. Suddenly, a large hell hound popped out of the shadow cast by the wall on the further side of the room. At first, he thought it was Mrs. O'Leary but she wouldn't have just come without Percy. This was _not_ the friendly hell hound.

Muttering curses, he immediately twisted the skull on his ring and his blade sprung to life in his hand. At the sight of the sword, the hell hound whimpered slightly but then growled in protest. It made no motion to spring so Nico went on the offense, jumping forward to swipe. In surprise, tank-sized dog barreled sideways with a yelp. It broke a large window and stepped on the fancy looking white couch, immediately snapping it like a toothpick. It retaliated with a lunge and swipe of the paw, which Nico easily dodged. The hell hound crashed into the wall, breaking everything in sight. While the room was very spacious, it wasn't meant to accommodate a hell hound's size and force.

The fight lasted no longer than that, as in an almost disappointed manner, Nico stabbed the monster in the side. It immediately burst into dust, sending a shower of its golden sand-like essence across the room. Nico coughed out a mouthful, sneezing once before looking around with wide eyes. They did quite a number on this place. His monster radar spiked and without another thought, he shadow traveled away to his 'home', and not a moment too soon. Just as the last shadowy tendril vanished, Alice, Jasper, Esme and Carlisle burst into the front door, hisses escaping their throats before they stared in a mixture of horror and wonder at the scene before them.

* * *

Renesmee huffed in annoyance. She was currently sitting at Billy Black's, squished between the large and warm bodies of Jake and Seth. Her eyes narrowed as they chattered on, trying to cheer her up. Normally, they could make her laugh until her stomach hurt, but right now she was purely pissed off. Why? Well, it's simple really.

Originally, Renesmee wanted to go searching for the mysterious guy as well. She was, after all, the one who ran into him. But _no_, she couldn't because it was _too dangerous for her_. At that, her eyes rolled. Too dangerous? She was half-freaking-vampire! They suspected that guy was a halfbreed too, making them evenly matched, right? No. Not to her family.

She gets it, she really does. She's the baby, the one born between two of them, the child everyone wanted but could never really have. So what do they do? Lock her in a figurative protective bubble. Can't let little Nessie get hurt now can they? God forbid she actually _hunts_ on her own. What's going to happen? The cougar puts up a little struggle? Oh my! Get the ambulance, she's going to die!

Part of her felt bad for acting so huffy and inconsiderate. They were only trying to keep her safe and do what they think is best for her. Still, that doesn't mean she's invalid or a human prone to harm like her mother was! Hell, even when her mother was a human she had more freedom than Renesmee has now. Thinking of that made the voice that made her feel bad go quiet. First, they try to plan out and control her life and future, then they take her freedom away. Thanks, but no thanks. Rebellious phase is a 'Go'.

The two large Quileute boys noticed she was irritated but continued to try and cheer her up. A tugging at Jacob's heart made him want nothing more than to see her smile again. He was well aware of the fact that his Nessie didn't want a romantic relationship with him yet and that was fine with him. Part of him yearned for that, but it was tamed by the rest of him that would bend and break to her will. Just like the legends said, he'd do anything and be anything she needed and wanted of him. Right now, she just wanted a friend and that's what he'd be.

Of course he was well aware of the fact that she might wind up in a relationship with someone else in the meanwhile. The thought made his heart clench and a thickness in his throat to become apparent. It would absolutely kill him to see her in the arms of another man, but if it made her happy, if it is what she wants, he'd let it go. The very thought caused his skin to crawl. _'That's not gonna happen, right? I'm her imprint!'_ The thought cheered him up more.

Renesmee glanced up to look at Jake's distracted face. It looked like he was in deep thought at the moment. Silently, she came up with a plan to get out of here. No, she didn't intend on running away permanently. She just needed a little break. Maybe she'd go back to Port Angeles and look for that guy again. There was something that was telling her she needed to find him first. It was such a strong calling that she couldn't possibly ignore it.

Finally, she came up with a plot and poked Jake in the side, causing him to jump in surprise. He blinked rapidly and looked down at her, that wide grin on his face revealing his white teeth. Despite being irritated with her life, she could hardly stay mad at Jake for long. He was doing what his blood told him to, just as she's going to do what her gut tells her to. His deep baritones filled the air, soothing her as they usually do.

"Yeah Ness?"

She grinned lightly at him, causing his smile to brighten a little.

"Is it okay if I run home? I kinda just need that time to be alone."

Jake's grin faltered a bit, as if unsure how to proceed.

"Uh, I dunno 'bout that. I was told to watch you. 'Sides, I couldn't just let my imprint go and possibly get hurt by some strange guy, could I?"

He tried to make the ending sound like a joke, but she could tell he was serious. A flicker of annoyance flared inside her. _'Here we go again. Nessie can't do this, she can't do that. She's going to get hurt!'_ She let a small hint of that irritation leak into her voice.

"Jake, I'm just going to my house. You know how fast I run, and besides, I think the other wolves would have noticed some strange guy lurking around, wouldn't they? I won't get hurt, I promise. Please?"

He flinched slightly at the tone of her voice at first, not liking the fact she was unhappy. _'Damn these wolf genes!'_ Had he not been so driven to please her, he'd be pretty irritated. Why should this damn imprinting control him like a puppet? He was never a puppet to anyone! Not even Bella. Oh, but now he is. Part of him was absolutely thrilled at the contentment and love he felt for Renesmee, but another part seethed that he lost that free part of him.

Snapping back to attention, he knew what she said was true. It wasn't _too_ far a run from here to the Cullen's place. Renesmee had vampire speed and strength so she could easily make it. Any vampire or unknown creature that was lurking around near by without their consent would have been found out by now. With a heaving sigh, he ran a hot, calloused hand down his face before nodding.

When she jumped up with a grin, immediately hugging him and thanking him, he grew happier. Well, if it made her this happy, it couldn't be that bad, huh?

Inside, Renesmee was dancing at her chance to finally escape. She gave Seth a goodbye hug and another to Jake before running out the front door. As she sprinted into the forest, she could feel eyes burning into her retreating figure. Jake and Seth watched her, waiting until she was far away enough to follow.

As she drifted out of view, she jumped up into a tree and took to leaping from branch to branch, trying to fool them. To her luck, once she reached the road, a car was coming up. Now, Renesmee knew that 'talking to strangers is bad, hitch hiking is worse, Stranger Danger' and all that crap, but honestly, what's a human going to do to her? She could fend for herself and she be damned if she didn't prove that!

Jumping from the branch she waited until the car drew closer and walked a little closer to the pavement, waving a hand, flagging them down. It didn't take much more than that for them to stop for her. She immediately raced over to the window, noticing it was one of the kids from school. What's his name? Newton, Mike Newton. He leered at her slightly, though he tried not to make it noticeable. He had a thing for all of the female Cullens and Hale. Pushing that back, she spoke swiftly but kindly.

"Hey Mike, I know this might seem odd but I was wondering if you could take me to Port Angeles really quickly. My car broke down at the reservation and I'm supposed to meet Rosalie, Bella, and Alice in less than half an hour."

From the look she was getting, she could have told him her magical dragon she was flying on had malfunctioned and exploded and she was trying to get back to West Virgina for Ice Cream and he would have believed her. In fact, she doubted he was really even listening. After a moment, she gave him an odd look, which seemed to snap him out of some sort of trance, causing him to blush furiously.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Hop in Ren."

She grimaced at the nickname, but quickly recovered as she ran to the passenger side and hopped in. Hopefully mentioning his mother and aunts would get him to go even faster toward Port Angeles.

By the end of the trip, she wanted to bash her head off the dashboard, which wouldn't do much, but regardless, it's what she felt like doing. The entire trip, he tried making small talk and telling corny jokes, to which she politely responded and fake laughed to. Honestly, the kid meant good, but he was a bit overbearing. Finally, she asked him to stop in front of some nondescript shop. His voice stopped her suddenly.

"Hey, Ren, I was wondering if, you know, in return for taking you here, if you'd wanna go out to the movies with me one day."

She kind of wanted to laugh at his flustered expression, but just politely smiled, digging in her pocket and pulling out the fifty that guy had given her earlier.

"Sorry Mike, I'd love to but I'm already seeing someone. Maybe if you want to get some friends together, I could get a few people and we could go as a group. Here, for the gas and the trouble."

Renesmee felt slightly bad at his downtrodden expression, but he perked up as she mentioned a group-date and handed him a fifty. He gave her a smile as he pocketed it and drove away. She sighed in relief. _'Finally.' _As she looked around, she realized she had no clue where to even start looking. Plus, she'd have to try and avoid her family, which is going to be really hard, if not damn near impossible. Well, she wanted a challenge, a change in life and she got it. With a sly grin, she went further into the city.

* * *

**Author's Note: Bleh, this is just a filler really, setting up for next chapter. Yeah, you might call Renesmee 'OOC' but really, she's a baby in BD so she has no concrete personality. I imagine her like this. As for Mike, remember, in Twilight he isn't some douche looking to molest every girl he sees like I see in so many fanfics. He's a good guy.**

**Poor Jake D: What is he going to do when Nessie and Nico get together? I could stand for him to be completely whipped. Jake's a smartass and that will show the more I write him. Don't worry my people, ****things will all make sense eventually****.**** So if it doesn't make sense now, just wait. I have it all planned.**

**As for the Hell hound, there was a reason for it appearing other than trying to kill Nico. Notice it's hesitancy?**

**This chapter is pretty bland and so are the characters, but next chapter things heat up a bit. I refuse to let one single character go by without being interesting. I HATE boring, 2d characters with a burning passion.**

**Coming up next: Nico meets Edward then eventually Nessie. The Cullens realize someone destroyed their house. Who is it that got in and what's that golden powder everywhere? Most importantly: Where did Renesmee go?**

**R&R. I love reading reviews. They motivate me to post quicker and more often. Chapter five **_**might**_** be up today!**


	5. La Morte

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING. Pjato belongs to Rick Riordan and Twilight belongs to .**

* * *

_Previously: "His monster radar spiked and without another thought, he shadow traveled away to his 'home', and not a moment too soon. Just as the last shadowy tendril vanished, Alice, Jasper, Esme and Carlisle burst into the front door, hisses escaping their throats before they stared in a mixture of horror and wonder at the scene before them."_

_"As she looked around, she realized she had no clue where to even start looking. Plus, she'd have to try and avoid her family, which is going to be really hard, if not damn near impossible. Well, she wanted a challenge, a change in life and she got it. With a sly grin, she went further into the city."_

* * *

As soon as Nico emerged from the shadows in the middle of the living room in his 'house', he fell to his knees. A throbbing headache pulsated in his brain. His eyes clamped shut fiercely as he fought bouts of dizziness and nausea. That was the longest he had ever used his 'monster tracking power' coupled with shadow traveling. Needless to say, it was a horrible, horrible combination.

Squinting through the pain, he noticed the suitcase containing ambrosia and nectar a bit away from his grasp. He breathed deeply, fighting through the uncomfortable feelings washing over him. He's not only a Greek hero of Olympus, but a part-time Roman, the Ambassador of Pluto, Ghost King, Heir of the Underworld and titles he didn't feel like thinking of right now. He could _not_ let this little insignificant spell bring him helplessly crumbling. What sort of hero is that?

Getting angered with himself, he pushed himself to his feet, swaying slightly and seeing black spots, before he stumbled toward the suitcase. As he _gracefully _sat to open the suitcase, he did his best to keep from retching up the McDonald's he had just eaten earlier. He couldn't chew the chunk of ambrosia fast enough. For a moment, he just reveled in the taste. It had the distinct flavor of _Ossa dei Morti_, a dessert his mother used to make for his sister Bianca and him. That's one of the only things he could remember from his old life. Now the realization made him laugh a bit bitterly. Ossa dei Morti. Bones of the Dead. _Of course_ his mother would make that and _of course_ that'd be his favorite food. The history of the dessert was just as sardonically amusing, linking to Roman times, as well as Pluto and Persephone. What a shocker.

As he sifted through foggy memories, he shoved the ambrosia back, not being foolish enough to eat any more. Already he felt a million times better than before. With renewed vigor, he leapt up, already going over everything he learned. So as to not forget any details, he quickly jotted down more notes. Aside from the names and terrible descriptions, he added the condition of the house, the condition the bear carcass was in, and anything odd or suspicious he found, or rather _didn't_ find. Once finished, he turned, debating on reporting to the Gods now or doing a little more 'Detective Nico' field work.

Well, he didn't need to debate anymore because waiting for him was the stoic, cold features of his father. Nico resisted the urge to jump out of his skin in surprise. To his relief, his father wasn't actually there, but it was just an awaiting IM. If Hades had shown up, Nico was probably in some deep shit because Hades hardly _ever_ came up from the Underworld on Nico's behalf. He figured Hades hadn't been waiting long. If he had been, Hades would be saying some mighty unpleasant things. Instead, he spoke in familiar icy, sinisterly smooth baritones.

"Nico, next time I send a hell hound to give you a message, try to refrain from killing it on sight."

At that, Nico's eyes widened a bit. So that's why it didn't want to attack him! Nico felt kind of bad for killing the hound when it hadn't meant harm in the first place. He had little time to feel guilty because Hades trudged on.

"I know it's hard to control your barbaric impulses. Fates only know how you're the one that survived and not Bianca."

Nico felt heat rush to his face and he had to bite his tongue. Despite hearing that too many times to count throughout his life, it still hurt like a bitch. Hades grimaced at his son. A twinge of guilt flared up in the God. _'Nonsense. I'm helping boy prepare for Godhood. One can not be weak and be a God. Especially not a God of the Underworld. He'd be eaten alive by the others.'_

"What I had sent the hound to inform you, if you even bothered to take the letter that had been strapped around his leg, was that there had been another sighting of a strange sort of monster near where you are searching. As Hermes delivered your luggage, he caught sight of wolves about the size of horses. At first he believed them to be hell hounds, but not all of them were black and they seemed a bit too small to be hell hounds. Add that to the list of monsters to inspect. Oh, and Nico,'

The demigod was already marveling over the information. _Another_ breed of monster? What in the name of his father is going on in this place? For being an obscenely small town, it has quite a bit of monsters. At the mention of his name, he snapped out of his reverie. The sight of Hades' devious smile frightened Nico a bit. He hardly ever seen his father with that look.

"You know that I can not assist you on this quest. That is forbidden. Giving you information such as that if you were to go back to the last place you were in Port Angeles, you'll find quite a bit of answers. _That_ would be completely breaking the rules. Gods forbid if I were to tell you that if you enroll in the Forks High School, you'd see them so much more often as they attend. I could _never_ tell you anything like that. You have to figure it all out on your own."

Again, that devilish look, so to speak, crossed Hades features. There seemed to be a torrent of thunder rumbling not only through the IM but where Nico was too. Hades laughed and swiped the message away. Nico stood stunned for a moment.

_'Well...That was unexpected.'_ He shook himself out of it. For some reason, he got the distinct feeling that Hades hadn't told him that stuff out of the kindness of his heart, but rather to take a jab at Zeus. He knew his father would take any opportunity to defy Zeus at every chance he could. Nico sighed, a slight grin slipping up his lips. At least he had some information now. He knew about the school, but he hadn't intended on enrolling himself. Enrolling implied that Nico was going to stay here for an extended period of time. Nico did not intend for that. Then again, it's the Gods wishes and intentions he has to heed lest he be turned into a pile of ashes, unfortunately. Once he gives them an update on the mission, he'll ask what they wish for him to do. For now, he has a lead to follow.

Nico had to concentrate for a moment, trying to remember where he last was. After he got some McDonald's to go, he bought some furniture and used Hermes express to ship it to the house he was staying in. Then he went to an alley nearby and shadow traveled 'home'. At least he knew where to go now. Before shadow traveling, he shoved a baggy of ambrosia in his pocket, consumed the disgusting viscous liquid in the vial and shoved that in the pocket of his jacket before closing his eyes and imagining the alley.

The same high-speed feeling took over, but it ended just as quickly, leaving him in a dank alley. His monster sensors went insane. With little thought, he instinctively threw up a thick black wall of shadows. Just as he predicted, a flash of ivory and bronze was noticed before one of the monsters, Edward he believed, was before him, looking around with a seriously frustrated and angry look. Nico resisted the urge to snicker. _'He kinda looks constipated.'_

Those furious black eyes were glaring right where Nico was standing, but the guy seemed to be searching for him as his eyes darted around. Nico felt a slight prodding in his mind, akin to when a God is reading his mind, and he immediately sent up his defenses with a sneer. He _hates_ when someone tries to read his mind. But at least he has another thing to add to his list. Eddie's a mind reader, Renesmee can put thoughts in your head. Two things struck him. One, their powers seemed to be opposites of each other, and two, he seriously needs to come up with a nickname for her. Renesmee is too much of a mouthful for him to care for. A hiss from the vampire brought him back from his thoughts.

Edward was seething. He had tracked the kid's damned scent all over the place! He was at a fast food restaurant, a furniture store, several side streets and the coffee shop, just like his daughter said. It ended here. It just _ended._ How could he just vanish? Edward even leapt onto the roofs of nearby buildings but there was not a trace to be found. Is that the kid's power, teleporting?

He hopped off the roof, ready to leave when the sudden thrum of a heart beat caught his attention. It was coming from the alley he just inspected. Edward bet it was the guy. A heart beat just doesn't appear out of thin air. Unless, of course, you're _this guy._

As swiftly as he could, he raced back around, only to be confronted with an empty alley. It _couldn't_ be empty! There's a fucking heartbeat _right there!_ He glared at the spot, seeing nothing but black. What the...His brows furrowed. Black? Vampires can naturally see in the dark just fine but for some reason he couldn't see through _those _shadows. It was just in that particular spot that he couldn't see. It was like someone erected a pure black wall in that area. Right where the heart beat is coming from.

With narrowed, black eyes, Edward probed the section mentally, trying to entire the mind of the being. For a split second it worked. All he got was _'constipated'_ before something seemed to shove him out of the mind. When he tried to entire again, all he saw was an empty black abyss. He could hear an almost slithering, hissing sound in the mind speaking a language he didn't understand and flashes of the corpses of his loved ones appeared before him. In anger and shock, Edward hissed. How did he know about his family? Not just immortal but _mortal_ as well. It set a cold, unsettling feeling toiling in his being. Who was this kid? Why did he want to kill them?

He would not relent. Edward crept forward, crouching in a hunter's stance, teeth bared and a steady growl rumbling in his chest. Nico stared with a brow raised. What the _Hades_ was he doing? He knew he was coming forward, ready to pounce, but Nico couldn't allow that. Twisting the skull on his ring once more, the three-foot long Stygian sword appeared in his hand, perfectly balanced and warm to his touch. His father said he could get information here. He assumed this is what Hades meant. Clearing his throat, Nico spoke, causing the vampire to stop momentarily and listen, watching with intense eyes, trying to catch sight of the person speaking.

"Stop. I will not attack so long as you reciprocate the courtesy. I'm simply here to gather information."

Edward listened, deciding whether or not to trust this voice. Flashes of what he seen in the guy's mind were brought to the forefront of his decision. The voice coming from the wall of shadows was low, colder than ice, and held a scathing air of power to it. Edward could feel a similar power radiating from the wall. He straightened slightly, though not fully. He responded with skeptical, mellifluous tones.

"And how do I know you are not lying? How do I know you mean no harm when you hide yourself like that? Who sent you, the Volturi?"

The name of the leading vampire clan sent shivers down Edward's spine, but he did not let it show. A dark laugh came from the shadows as if he had told an amusing joke. Nico had no clue who the 'Volturi' were, but if he worded this right, he could figure out what role they play in this game of his.

"Why don't you tell me if I'm lying, mind reader? I would have shown myself, but you approached me like a monster. What did you expect of me? And what makes you think the _Volturi_ sent me?"

Edward was momentarily stunned that he could tell that Edward had tried reading his mind. Then again, if he had thought such wicked things, then he probably knew all of their powers. When the cloaked being called him a monster, his lips peeled back and another growl tore through his throat, yet he cut it off. That's just what the figure was talking about and provoking. Straightening up, he glared into the darkness before answering.

"I would, but all you seem to be thinking of his my family dying. Tell me, how do you know them and what do you want? If you show yourself, I will not attack you unless given reason to. Who else would send you to spy on my family? Aro has been searching for ways to falsely accuse us of breaking the only two Vampire Laws so he could start a war. You can tell him we've done nothing wrong."

Nico snorted. That's it? A petty feud between clans? He was hoping for something more awesome. With a roll of the eyes, he waved his hand and the wall diminished. Immediately, the vampire was on edge, staring at the obviously powerful being before him. Almost lazily, Nico leaned against the wall, his grip on the sword never loosening, and he responded as if his words were common knowledge.

"The only reason you see that is because that's a defense mechanism against telepathic attacks. They try and get into my head and they see the ones they care about dying. A deterrent of sorts. Calm yourself, I have no ill-will against your family so long as you do nothing to cross me. As for the Volturi, I do not work for them or their petty war efforts. Thank you for the conversation Edward, but I must be going. Have a nice day."

Just as Edward was about to respond, Nico snapped his fingers, praying to every God and Goddess he knew that the mist would work enough to erase this memory before he slipped into the shadows. Edward blinked rapidly, looking around the empty alley way. He could have sworn he heard a heart beat over here. He grimaced deeply before turning and racing back toward his house, not remembering a single event that had just occurred. What greeted him at the house was no better.

Everyone was in a frenzy. The house was utterly destroyed. Golden dust coated the entire downstairs, the walls were smashed and caved-in in a few spots, the couch was crushed, the glass walls were destroyed, and nearly everything that could break was broken. Two strange scents were prominent in the air. One radiating from the dust was the stench of sulfur and a dog. The other, which, much to everyone's fears, trailed throughout each and every one of their rooms and all over their belongings. It smelt of death. Pure death. It frightened them and the poor empath got his own load plus everyone's, accidentally radiating some of it back out. Whatever it was that smelled of death had been in each of their rooms, touched their stuff, and did _this_ to their house.

The scent was only on the inside of the house and then started again at the edge of the forest. The vampires could understand if it were another vampire or even a halfbreed jumping from there into one of the house's windows, but none were smashed except for the set on the _other_ side of the house. They were utterly baffled.

Immediately, Jasper, Emmett, and Edward set out to follow the scent while the rest cleaned up the wreckage. Every now and again the scent would just disappear, like the scent trail in Port Angeles. It was frustrating, but they were finally led to a clearing. When it led them to the carcass of the bear Emmett had eaten, he grew even more uneasy. It seemed to have examined what he'd done before covering the bear up again. It finally just cutoff beside a pine tree. No other trails could be picked up. They were utterly stumped and angry. Emmett let out a roar of frustration, punching the tree with all his force, sending the tree down to the Earth with some cracking and not so much as a courtesy '_Timber!'_

Disgruntled, they made their way back to the house, only to be met with a hysteric Bella and a nearly insane Jacob. The thoughts hit Edward like a punch to the gut, leaving him breathless, not that he needed to breathe. Still, the sentiment is there. He barely gasped out in an audible level.

"Renesmee's gone."

* * *

Meanwhile, Renesmee was wandering around Port Angeles, only finding fading scent trails of her family and the mystery guy. The freshest was in an alley, but there was nothing to be found there. With a frustrated sigh, she kept walking, looking around out of habit, not really taking anything in.

Out of sheer luck did she look up at an Italian take-out place just as a figure turned, finishing paying for his food and carrying a bag toward the door. Their eyes met and she caught her breath at the look he gave her. A smirk curled up his lips, as if he knew a hilarious joke or secret she didn't, but she wanted to know. His eyes, black as ink, seemed to glitter with that brilliance and insanity she seen earlier. He walked casually, not trying to run from her or lose her. His gait was easy, yet proud and strong. He held himself high in a way that spoke waves of his dangerous prowess. It wasn't that of a self-important arrogant bastard, but a cold individual who _knew_ just where he stood. It reminded her of a lithe cat, hunting its prey, yet playing with it first.

She couldn't help herself. Renesmee ran across the street in an effort to catch up to the mystery guy, so she named him, dodging cars with ease and effectively ignoring their blaring horns. Nico didn't turn to watch coffee-shop girl. He knew she was following, he could sense it with his powers and feel it in her moving shadow. Personally, he preferred coffee-shop girl. He wasn't too fond of 'Renesmee'. It sounded like someone cut out a bunch of letters, ate them, threw them up and then picked that as a name. Rude, yes, but he never claimed to be completely nice.

Just as he expected, she hopped right in front of him, preventing him from going any further. Not that he couldn't just shadow travel away since he was standing in her shadow now, but he had a feeling this could be both useful and interesting. He quirked a brow, schooling his face into one of cold, enigmatic expression. His voice slithered from between his lips, cool as ice.

"Can I help you?"

She gave him a scrutinous look, as if she were trying to get answers from him by staring. The girl held an odd look on her face, talking in a questioning, yet forceful tone.

"Who are you?"

Nico snorted, an indignant look on his face as he stared at her. Turning on his heel, he walked back over to a table in front of the Italian restaurant and sat down. If they were playing 20 questions, Nico was going to get comfy. She seemed affronted that he just walked away from her before she followed and sat down, uninvited, across from him. He was the first guy to not treat her as a fragile toy, swoon over her looks, or bow to her every whim. It intrigued her greatly. Nico, gazing at her with those soul-penetrating black eyes spoke again, his voice much colder and much fiercer than before.

"It's a bit rude to demand that someone tell you who they are when you haven't introduced yourself, let alone sit down at a table uninvited."

Again, Renesmee was taken aback by his words and actions. In truth, she was spoiled rotten and didn't know quite how to handle someone not going along with her every sentence and action. Part of her was offended, but a larger part was thrilled. This is exactly what she needed! She blushed when she realized her bad manners. Her family had always taught her about the importance of manners and here she completely disregarded them.

"Er, sorry. I'm Renesmee. Who are you? I know you're not human and my family wanted to talk to you."

Nico's brows rose as she spoke. She collapsed easily when pressured, didn't she? He got the impression she was completely sheltered because most would know better than to go around saying what they know, _especially_ if it was dangerous information. Some would kill if their secrets were out, like, for example, _not being human_. With a much more amused expression, he responded to her.

"Nico and you could get into some serious trouble pointing accusations around like that, but you're right, I'm not completely human. Your family wants to speak to me? Why?"

Renesmee blushed again, noticing another mistake she made. How could she be so dense? Of course you don't go around telling people they're not human! Jeeze, and she thought she knew exactly what she wanted to say if she ever found this guy, _Nico._

"You're right, that was pretty stupid of me, huh? I'm just kinda excited. Are you like me? A halfbreed? And my family just wants to know who and what you are. Ya know, making sure you're not a threat and all that."

He resisted the urge to roll his eyes. Seriously? Nico figured she'd have a little more fire in her than this. She blushed after almost everything he said. Part of him felt bad for being so harsh, but he was raised to not show weakness and not give in. Completely opposite to what this girl is displaying to him. If his assumptions were correct and she was completely sheltered, she probably wasn't supposed to be out on this 'man-hunt' for Nico that these vampires were having. Just to see if his thoughts were correct, he decided to ask her in an inadvertent way.

"I _am_ a halfbreed,'

_'Probably not the sort you're thinking of.' _ He thought, continuing on with his words.

"and I'm right here. Why don't you call up your family and tell them to meet us here?"

She seemed to grow absolutely ecstatic at his confirmation that he was a half-breed, but paled horrifically when he suggested calling her family. Just as he suspected. He resisted the urge to smirk at her. She stuttered out, a little put-off by his words.

"Umm, I don't think that'd be a good idea. They're probably, er, busy, ya know?"

Nico cocked a brow, that smirk he previously withheld slowly began to creep up his lips. He glanced into the distance. His monster radar was starting to pick up a group coming this way quickly.

"Not busy enough because they're coming this way. Here's your choice, come with me or stay here. Either way, I'm going."

She hesitated, blanching at the thought of going with a potentially dangerous halfbreed, but even more afraid of her angry parents. Besides, didn't she say she was going to be more defiant and daring? Renesmee jumped up from her seat, obviously choosing to go with Nico. He chuckled lightly. _'She is so naive. She should be damn happy I'm not evil.'_

Without wasting anymore time, he got up just as quickly and grabbed her hand, diving into the shadows.

* * *

**Author's Note: So Nico got some useful information and a rebellious, but slightly soft Renesmee! What will he do next?**

**By the way, Nessie is definitely not staying this soft, squishy jelly_ thing._ She's going to pick up a bit of personality in her journeys with Nico. Beware.**

**Oh the Cullens are deliriously upset and absolutely enraged. **

**Where did their precious little Nessie go?**

**Could this be the beginning of their relationship?**

**Where did Nico take her?**

**Could Nico be the bad boy unpredictable change she's needed in her boring Mary Sue life? **_-coughYEScough-_

**Will it last?**

**Will they be able to differentiate Nico's full demigod scent and his diluted scent?**

**Will any of them discover Hades letter to Nico?**

**Find out next time, on Shadow of your Smile, Ch.6!**

**Question time: Should Nico go to the school or not? I'm feeling it might be a bit cliched, though it will get him closer to the Cullens and possibly set up both good and bad scenarios. I'm on the fence. Go ahead, knock me off. Which side will I land? Yes or No?**

**And for anyone curious as to why the mist worked on Edward and not Nessie (the knives in chapter two), I see it like this. Yes, the Cullens are vampires, and in all technicalities 'monsters', but they were turned into vampires. If they get killed, they're not reforming. They're just like humans in that aspect, and thus in the mist aspect. I figured, since Nessie can penetrate shields, she could see through the mist. That doesn't mean Edward can. Any ideas on who else can and can't? And no, all of the Cullens won't be demigods. Carlisle _might_ be son of Apollo because, face it, he has the iconic look of Apollo kids and is gifted with healing. Jasper _might_ be a son or Legacy of Minerva because, again, he fits the physical description and he's gifted in warfare and intelligence. Any other thoughts on that?**

**Thank you to **_**TheRedSkittle**_**. I enjoy you, your reviews, and your cookies immensely!**


	6. Sorride

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING. Pjato belongs to Rick Riordan and Twilight belongs to .**

* * *

Previously: _"Disgruntled, they made their way back to the house, only to be met with a hysteric Bella and a nearly insane Jacob. The thoughts hit Edward like a punch to the gut, leaving him breathless, not that he needed to breathe. Still, the sentiment is there. He barely gasped out in an audible level._

_"Renesmee's gone." '_

_'"She hesitated, blanching at the thought of going with a potentially dangerous halfbreed, but even more afraid of her angry parents. Renesmee jumped up from her seat, obviously choosing to go with Nico. He chuckled lightly. 'She is so naive. She should be damn happy I'm not evil.'_

_Without wasting anymore time, he got up just as quickly and grabbed her hand, diving into the shadows."_

* * *

Edward, Bella, and Rosalie tore down the back streets, avoiding populated areas with keen precision. If they were still alive, their hearts would be racing to the point of explosion. They had just found out that Renesmee, they're precious little Renesmee, was missing. Her trail faded from the woods half-way between their house and the Reservation boundary line. When they came across the end of the scent line, Bella nearly screamed in frustration and fear._ Where had she gone?!_

Now, vampires may be incredibly intelligent with infallible memories, but that doesn't mean they're impervious to natural human reactions like terror and stupor. In the shock of it all, Bella had, at first, assumed that she had been kidnapped, but then realized that no human could kidnap her and Alice would have seen any new vampire arrivals, or Edward would have at least heard their thoughts. They, the Cullens and the wolves, had a tight monitoring on the small town. No creature got in or out without their knowledge in some way. Except...Except that _thing _that had destroyed their house.

Nobody wanted to admit that being could have taken Renesmee and did its odd teleporting trick, but everyone knew it was possible. It may not have been said, but the feeling of the knowledge hung heavily in the air, strangling them. The only thing keeping them from jumping straight to that conclusion was the fact that it's scent was nowhere near Renesmee's. In hopes of finding something else, Edward, Bella, Emmett, and Rosalie began a four-vampire search party heading toward Port Angeles while the wolves combed through the woods. Jasper, Alice, Carlisle, and Esme remained home, partly hoping for her to return and partly to clean-up the wreckage.

So far the only trace found was the old and fading scent of the day's earlier exploitations. With each passing moment and each dead-end, the group grew more and more exacerbated. Their worst fears were coming true. Something had come, destroyed their home, posing an actual threat as none could get even the slightest lead on it, and it could have taken Renesmee. Bella would have believed it to be a nightmare, except vampires don't sleep. Despite all her wishing, she knew that she would not wake up from this.

Edward suddenly let out a surprised sound. Bella turned to look at him in question. He was really one of their only hopes of catching onto her with his ability to locate her mind. Sure, they hope to find her trail and follow that, but that didn't guarantee a thing as it could have gone cold long before they find her. Or, like two of their suspicions, she could be in a car or transported by _him._ The thought of the boy made fear and hatred rise in her gut with a vengeance. Now-blackened eyes caught her husband pointing up ahead in the distance to a little Italian Bistro.

"I caught the tenor of her thoughts right there!"

They need no other motivation to tear down the streets, avoiding being sighted to the best of their abilities. Just as the reached the talus of the hill they ran up, Edward let out a pitiful sound.

"SHE'S GONE!"

Bella felt her body quiver and crushing emotions weigh upon her shoulders. _Gone?_ Her eyes burned and she knew she'd cry if she could. Edward, in the mean time, took to destroying the wall of an abandoned shop furiously. She knew he'd be crying right alongside her if he could. Rosalie was already at the last spot Renesmee was, searching around with a desperate look, Emmett trying to console her while he searched the nearby alleyway. Feeling utterly useless, she made her way to Rose and helped, automatically picking up a strange scent, obviously masculine, with Renesmee's. She had sat at the same table as him and they seemed to disappear together.

It baffled Bella. Now who was _this _boy? It held a slightly similar scent to the one that was at her house, the one they were searching for, but it smelled _human._ Clearly not the thing they were searching for. Some gave them strange looks as they all but tore up the concrete slabs from the ground looking for clues. She heard Rosalie snarling to herself in frustration. The blonde straightened her posture and called the other three to her, her expression fighting between enraged and worried.

"Guys, when we came up to the top of the hill, I _seen_ Renesmee. She was right here with some boy. I couldn't get a look at who he was because she was blocking him from my view, but I did see her turn to look where we were. She looked terrified. Then, she grabbed him and just _vanished_. Vanished! I think...I think she was trying to avoid us."

There was a moment of tense silence as the three stared blankly at Rosalie, processing what they told her. Emmett was the first to speak, his usually cheerful tone much more somber. One would be surprised to hear it coming from the jokester's mouth.

"But babe, why would she be _avoiding_ us? Unless this guy's got some serious influencing powers, I don't think she'd be trying to run away from us. She'd be running from him."

Rosalie shot him a clearly irritated look and Bella figured she was resisting the urge to slap him upside the head. Despite what most might believe, Rosalie isn't a complete bitch. She just has a lot of defenses, and understandably so. Aside from her look she was giving him now, Bella knew she loved Emmett immensely. She was just worried for her niece.

"I know what I saw Emmett. _She went with him._ Who knows, maybe he does have those sort of powers."

Bella didn't know what to say, her grief surpassing her ability to put forth any helpful comments. Instead, she chose to be silent and listen intently. Now is not the time to fold under pressure. This is her _daughter_ for fuck's sake! Her expression faded from completely distraught to pure steel. A hard look turned soft nigrescent eyes to pits of deadly black ice. No one, and I mean _no one_, messes with her baby and gets away with it! Step aside mother bear, mama vampire is pissed and she will burn the world to the ground to get her back to safety.

Meanwhile, Edward was in contemplative silence. His face was unreadable, though it was clear he was thinking of harsh, unpleasant things. Not necessarily violent, but painful things. Suddenly, he broke the small squabble escalating between the couple.

"When I picked up her tenor of thoughts, I got exactly what the kid looked like and exactly what he said. He said _"Not busy enough because they're coming this way. Here's your choice, come with me or stay here. Either way, I'm going."_.

When Edward mimicked what Nico had said, he did a rather good imitation of the sarcastic Son of Hades' voice. Not quite spot on, but Nico's voice could never truly be copied. There was just that tone, that power in his voice that none could replicate.

" When she found out we were coming, she clearly panicked in her mind. She thought of a few things clearly. One, she was afraid of going with him and two, she was even more afraid of us finding her. Why, I don't know, but I think he may have influenced her. She would never be afraid of us. Before I could check the boy's mind, they vanished. He looks _exactly_ like the boy we're looking for. However, it doesn't make any sense. He smells nothing like the thing that was at our house."

There was another unsteady silence. The four vampires, converged at the last known spot their missing member was seen, were teetering on the edge of losing control. Their natural feral vampire sides wanted to come out, to tear everything in their path down and to find Renesmee. Vampires are fiercely protective creatures. Whoever this kid was, he picked the wrong coven to mess with. They took on the Volturi and got away unscathed. One kid could not be an issue, right?

* * *

Back at the Cullens house, Carlisle, Esme, Jasper, and Alice were picking apart the wreckage of the downstairs. It was an odd sight to see; a small four-foot, eleven-inch woman pick up a shattered piano as if it were nothing more than a book and toss it out the gaping hole where their glass paneling had once been. There was a terrible silence reigning over them and a note of trepidation hanging in the air. Be as he might, even Jasper couldn't fully wash it away. It was just too thick, too strong. His eyes, blackened with emotions, caught sight of something strange.

Among the wreckage of the fireplace lay a black envelope. He picked it up, mildly surprised at the texture and quality of the letter. There was not a thing wrong with it. Even as it lay amidst the carnage of the house, not a speck of dust marred the high-quality envelope. It was not the everyday envelope, either. It felt thick and rich, an obviously expensive brand. The seal on the back was made of blood-red wax and imprinted with a helm akin to one he seen in mythology. There was no address, no indication as to whom it was addressed to or who it was from. Again, it was simply baffling.

He broke the seal with deft fingers. Compared to his skin, the letter was blacker than night and seemed to radiate a chill colder than his flesh. When he lifted the flap to retrieve the letter, a trace amount of shadows appeared to leap out and attack his face. He jumped back in surprise, a hiss exiting his lungs as he swatted it away. For a moment, he felt fear like he never did before. It was so pure in tone, so deep-rooted and bone chilling, he knew if his heart still held a beat, it would have stopped then and there. It lasted only a moment, but he knew he'd never forget it.

Apparently, due to the strength of the dose, he accidentally conveyed it to those in the house. He was hit by three simultaneous waves of unadulterated fear. It made a shudder rack the seemingly fearless ex-soldier's spine. Three streaks flashed by and he was surrounded by the other Cullen members who had stayed behind to clean up the mess. They gave him concerned and curious looks. Before any could speak, he held up a hand and showed them the letter. When he spoke, his natural Southern drawl was prominent. It was usually brought out when emotions, particularly his, ran high.

"I can't say for sure what just happened, but whatever was in this envelope caused that. I think it's a sort of defense mechanism, a very effective one at that. If I were human, I'd be dead on the spot from that much fear. A toxin, perhaps? Whatever it was, it was strong and whoever sent this didn't want it in the wrong hands."

He handed the letter over to Carlisle for further inspection. _'A fear toxin? It's not unheard of, but the closest in strength to that would have to be straight out of a Batman comic.'_ The head of the clan's mouth downturned into a frown; a look very unsuited on his charming and genteel face. With nimble motions, he removed the letter from the envelope. Being as old as he is, Carlisle was relatively surprised with the type of paper and packaging, as he never seen such a sort before. Not that he could remember, anyway. He'd most certainly be keeping it for later analyzation. Perhaps, if he found the source of their manufacturing, he could pull a few strings and figure out who all bought it. Surely not many would as it seemed highly expensive. Even the Cullens, as vastly wealthy as they are, never knew of such a type. The ebon paper was leafed in silver and scripted in a similar silver ink. By the stroking of the letters and flow, he assumed it was not by a normal ball-point pen, but something relatively expensive as well. Perhaps a quill-tipped pen? He had some that wrote in a similar manner and Heavens know they weren't cheap.

With a sweep of his faded eyes, he read the short letter and frowned in confusion. It was not in any language he was used to. It appeared to be Ancient Greek, from what he could recall from his studying of Ancient Greece some years ago. He turned the letter over, looking for any other hint before passing it around. Carlisle already figured none of the others would make sense of any of this, but figured it was well worth a shot and at the least bit courteous. Alice spoke, confusion clear in her voice.

"Carlisle, none of this makes sense. This looks like Ancient Greek. Why on Earth would anyone be writing in that language?"

He just shook his head, alongside her husband and his wife. None knew and it frustrated them to no ends. The psychic let out an irritated sound as she crossed her arms, eyeing the note with a particularly dark look. It was strange seeing the happy and optimistic vampire so upset. Strange, but not unheard of. It reminded him of the time when Bella was pregnant with Renesmee and Alice couldn't see the future. In fact, it gave her a headache to try. The high falsetto of said Alice broke his train of thought once more.

"This just doesn't make sense. None of it! I can't see the future, no ones! I know damn well it isn't because of Renesmee. With her, I get slight, blurry glimpses, but now, it's just black. Empty. I think it's because of whoever did this to our house. What if..."

She trailed off with a hardly concealed frightened look. It was clear what she wanted to say. Everyone was thinking the same thing. _'What if they die?'_ Death was an odd, foreign concept to them. True, they faced it once while transitioning into vampirism, but actual death? No. It scared them, all of them, to think of the others gone. Just pillars of purple smoke dissipating into the atmosphere. Jasper put a hand on his wife's shoulder, using his powers to calm her and the others down. With a sigh, Carlisle ran a hand through his hair before looking at the puzzling letter once more.

"I believe I have some translating to do."

* * *

When Nico and Renesmee emerged from the shadows, Renesmee immediately fell to her knees, retching and heaving. Blood came up, and Nico was not in the least bit surprised to see that. It just confirmed his theory that bit more. When she finished, he offered her a hand to help her up. She took it and stood with shaky legs, looking paler than usual. A little blood lingered on her lips. He made a little wiping motion with his hands.

"You got a little, uh..."

She immediately took the hint and wiped her mouth furiously, removing any traces of the incriminating crimson with a blush. Renesmee still looked entirely shaken from the shadow travel while it didn't seem to faze Nico at all. She looked at him incredulously while still trying to keep whatever remained her stomach down.

"How does that not affect you? That has to be the _worst_ feeling in the world!"

He just glanced at her, a brow raised, and gave an indignant snort before walking toward the end of the alley, the white bag containing his takeout still in one hand.

"Both my cousin and I seem to think it's the _coolest_ feeling in the world. Either we're crazy or you're just a wuss."

Renesmee just stared at his retreating figure in surprise. _'How could anyone find that fun?!'_ Just thinking about it made her nauseous again. She hurried to catch up to him. Giving him a curious glance as he dug through the bag, she retorted with less enthusiasm.

"Yeah, well, could we keep the teleporting to minimum? I don't think I have enough food in my stomach to keep throwing up like that."

Nico was already opening up a white styrofoam container and picking at the food inside. Upon looking at it, Renesmee couldn't figure out exactly what it was, but it clearly was some sort of meat.

"You're gonna have to get used to it if ya wanna get home. Unless you want to call your parents, that is. And it's _shadow traveling._ Not teleporting. I can't teleport."

Renesmee's nose scrunched up at the suggestion and she shook her head. Call her parents? No thanks. It looked like she'd be 'shadow traveling', much to her displeasure, though she didn't know why he had to make such a distinction between the two. Teleporting and shadow traveling seems pretty much the same to her, not that she ever teleported before. From the sounds of it, she guessed that shadow traveling required shadows of some sort, not that it was obvious or anything. Before she could get another word in edgewise, Nico was off ranting with a look of disgust on his face. He had spit the food on to the ground that he had been previously chewing already.

"What sort of Osso Buco is this?! There's no white wine or lemon zest in it and there's _way_ too much garlic and they completely dried up the veal! Essi sono una massa di idioti! Remind me not to look for Italian there again. Merda, ya want a simple Italian dish and they botch it all to Hades!"

He was clearly distraught about the food for some indescribable reason and Renesmee was completely floored that such a little thing made Nico fly off the handle. From what she gathered, he was a usually calm, cool, and collected person. She stared at him with raised brows. There's was a mild awkward silence as Nico continued to mutter curses in italian about the food and the restaurant that made it. She finally spoke up, not all too certain on what to say.

"So...uh, you're a food aficionado then?"

Yeah, it was stupid, but she didn't like how weird it felt just listening to him cursing the food to 'Tartarus' and some other inexplicably odd things. He halted to a dead stop, the container clutched tightly in his hands to the point where she heard the faint _crunch_ and _pop!_ of his fingers breaking through. Then, he turned to her, a completely confused expression on his face. His eyes conveyed that he was completely and utterly bewildered at whatever had just occurred here. When he spoke, his voice was just as layered with abashment as the rest of his actions displayed.

"No, I have no clue what that was actually. Here, you can have this."

He left no room for argument as he shoved the container at her. Just as she thought, there were little holes where his fingers had pierced the lid. She would have declined, but she didn't want to offend him and she was hungry. He seemed to be far off in thought while she picked at the food. Honestly, she half expected to have a similar reaction, but to her surprise, it was actually really good. Really, she had no clue what he was going on about.

Meanwhile, Nico walked on, as if in a trance. Nothing like that had happened to him before. When he bit into the food, it was like he remembered something, remembered eating that same sort of food so long ago. Now that he thought about it, he realized that he had memories that weren't there before. Glimpses of the past where his mother, his sister, and he made the very same dish in a stately kitchen when he was little. It tasted so much better, so much more authentic. Not _this._ Biting into the food and tasting such a horrid replication seemed just so blasphemous to him.

As he pondered the several thoughts pacing his mind, a wave of horrible nausea exploded in his gut and a splitting headache bloomed in his head as if he were just hit in the head by a cyclops' club. He fell into the grimy brick wall beside him, arms wrapping around his midsection as he doubled over in pain. Nico fought back the violent urge to vomit multiple times. The pain in his head grew worse and worse until he fell to his knees. His hands moved from cradling his waist to gripping his hair and holding his head up. Faintly, he could hear Renesmee buzzing around him in worry, trying to help, but that all faded.

* * *

He seemed to be thrown back in time, like watching an old home movie. The first thing he noticed was, well, himself. Albeit, a young and tiny him. He looked about ten at the time. It was around the time his mother was killed. Then, he noticed his sister chasing after him. She looked exactly how he remembered her. He looked completely different. Like her, he had pitch black hair and tan, olive toned skin. He was laughing freely, a jubilant smile lighting up his childish features. She had a similar expression as she chased her little brother, both giggling. Suddenly, a sweet voice called out to them. _"Smetterla, bambini. Now, come along. It's time to make dinner. What would you like tonight?"_

Nico, the real Nico, had to choke back a sob as he seen his mother step into view. She had on a simple black dress that looked stunning on her and a set of white pearls. The way she looked at her children, he'd never forget it. It's what he always imagined she'd look at them like. Love, the kind only a mother could give. It was nothing like his father ever showed him and he'd yearn for such affection all the more now that he seen and felt it. He could see why his father fell for her. Her appearance aside, he just _knew_ by the look in her eyes that she's a fiery one. There was a rebelliousness and distinct sense of pride in her that none could ever break. It's the reason she died. A part of him was furious that she couldn't have yielded, she could have survived. Another part was proud that she stood up to Zeus and never showed an ounce of fear to the King of the Gods. Not even the mighty Zeus could break this mortal's spirit, couldn't make her bow to his whims. It made him want to live the same way. He knew that after this, he'd carry a part of his mother with him. He'd carry on her fire, her soul.

Both Nico and Bianca settled down at their mother's words and when questioned on what they wanted to eat, Nico immediately began bouncing up and down on his toes. _"Oh, oh, possiamo avere osso buco!?" _His face was lit up like a christmas tree. Bianca tossed in an affirmative, agreeing with her brother. Their mother smiled before answering, bending slightly to look at Nico face-to-face. _"We __**can**__ but that does not mean we __**will**__." _Apparently, young Nico caught on to what she was hinting and let out a dramatic groan. _"Mamma..."_ She just gave him a teasingly stern look. He huffed and rolled his eyes while grumbling. _"Possano abbiamo osso buco?" _His tone was low and telling tales of his desire to not be corrected. His mother just smiled and ruffled his inky hair, Bianca snickering slightly at the disgruntled look on her little brother's face. _"Molto meglio, Nico. Remember what Moliére said? Grammar, which knows how to control even kings. You can ask tuo padre about that."_

The current Nico was nearly as confused as young Nico at the words, though young Nico seemed to remember something grown Nico did not. Before any other words could be exchanged, another figure appeared, speaking in deep baritones. To his utter shock and surprise, his father stood there. And he was _smiling! "Ask me what, dear?"_ Even more surprising was the look of total adoration he gave Maria as he went up and gave her a kiss. When young Nico and Bianca ran up to Hades, exclaiming _"Papa!"_ and hugging him, and when Hades returned the sentiments with clear sincerity, the current Nico nearly had a heart attack. It was like a scene straight out of the Twilight Zone. He knew his father cared deeply about his mother and sister, but it was just so strange to see it. Along with the fact that he was actually being affectionate to Nico made it all the harder to swallow. His bitter resentment toward his uncle Zeus grew all the deeper at the realization of what a perfect life he had and how it turned to shit because of his pettiness.

Maria laughed light-heartedly while speaking. _"Oh, I was just telling tuo figlio about the importance of proper grammar." _Hades turned to Nico, a small grin on his pallid lips. _"She's right, Nico. It would do no good to leave room for others to twist your words."_ A feeling rose in Nico, bringing him back to when his father had tricked him into delivering Percy. Hades had twisted his words and said that Nico should have made him swear on Styx. So his father had tried to help him when he was a child. It was an odd notion, but clearly represented in the scene before him.

Just as the children ran off to the kitchen, no doubt eager to help cook, Hades turned to Maria, a concerned look on his face. However, when he spoke, Nico could not hear him. He seen his father's lips moving, but no sound came out. The scene began to fade away in a style reminiscent of water poured upon a freshly finished oil painting. The colors ran and dripped away until nothing was left but sheer white. That's when he felt someone shaking his shoulder and heard the faint sound of someone calling his name in panic.

* * *

He blinked rapidly, shielding his eyes from the sun blazing in his eyes. Renesmee's worried, yet newly relieved face suddenly filled his vision. It was then that he realized he was laying on his back on the ground and it took him a moment to remember where he was. _'What the Hades just happened?'_ He then recalled a time when Hazel experienced similar flashbacks, but from what she told him, they were hardly painful at all. Then, he was brought back to reality by the half-vampire's incessant chattering.

"Oh my God, Nico! What happened? I was so worried! You just fell over and passed out! I didn't think the Osso Buco was _that_ bad!"

He let out a mildly irritated groan and waved her away before pushing himself up and hopping to his feet. No way would he let her think he has some sort of problem or was weak. Despite the headrush, he held himself tall and straight, looking at her with a hard stare.

"Yes, because the Osso Buco did that."

The sarcasm was heavily noted in his voice by Renesmee, much to her chagrin. _'Is he always this mean to people who try to help him?"_ Little did she know that yes, he is because it was the way he was raised to be. Or, at least it was the way he _remembered_ being raised to be. His memories, aside from the little flashes he gets every now and again, and, well this time, spanned back only a few years. Those years weren't exactly filled with the sort of fatherly love and teaching one would think. Nico just plowed on, disregarding her somewhat annoyed expression.

"I'm fine. It's just a side-effect of traveling with someone else."

The lie slipped easily from his tongue. At one point bringing someone else would have made him pass out, especially bringing them this far, but what with his active use of shadow traveling, his mounting control over his powers, and the upgrade he got after taking on the roles offered to him, such side-effects have become slim to none. She seemed to buy the story, however, and gave him a worried look.

Part of her wanted to ask if he was alright again, though she knew he'd snip back that he was alright and probably question her hearing abilities. The other part of her figured he is already used to such events. The only thing that puzzled her was why it didn't occur right after they arrived and not down the line when he was eating. It just seemed a bit too coincidental to her, so she took his 'truth' with a grain of salt.

In between her violent reaction to the new form of transportation and worrying over the blacked out Nico, Renesmee took no notice to her current surroundings. The food container forgotten on the ground and smattering of bloody retching left as the only trace of their presence, the two made their way onto the main street. Some gave them curious looks, but shrugged it off. They made no deal of two teens coming out of a dead-end alley. To them, they were probably doing something scandalous or illegal. Judging by the disheveled look of the two, they chalked it up to a little lewd exhibitionism. They could not be further from the truth if they tried.

Renesmee looked around in astonishment. She had expected Nico to take her a little bit away from Port Angeles. Not here! Skyscrapers seemed to touch the clouds, people milled about everywhere, and the sounds of the city were so overwhelming, she didn't know how she could have missed it earlier. Despite knowing very well where they are, she absent-mindedly found herself asking.

"Nico, where are we?"

He turned from looking down the street to smirking at Renesmee. With an extravagant wave of the hand that would make any Italian proud, he spoke.

"Welcome to the Big Apple. Now, if you don't mind, I'm going to visit my cousin and find a decent restaurant. The ones where you live are total shit."

At the jab at the food places in Port Angeles and Forks, she couldn't help but nod in agreement, mimicking his smirk. _'It's true. They do suck something fierce.'_ Then, it registered in her mind what he said in the beginning. _'New York? I figured, but how did we get here so fast?! Not even vampires are that fast. I mean, it's probably the 'shadow traveling', but still. And his cousin?'_

"Umm, Nico? This may seem like a stupid question, but I am coming with you, right? And who is your cousin?

Nico gave her possibly the most condescending look she had ever received and it made her mildly self-conscious. She knew it was a stupid question, but she had to ask. When he spoke, the incredulous contempt just reaffirmed her belief that he now believed she was either incredibly stupid or just that oblivious.

"Well duh, yes you're coming. Unless, of course, you want to make your own way home. Whatever floats your boat."

At that, Renesmee shook her head vigorously. Despite not knowing near to a damn thing about Nico, she knew she'd rather stick by him than try to get herself back to Forks where, no doubt, she'd be in deep shit for skipping out with a potentially dangerous stranger. Besides, putting aside his dry sarcasm, biting attitude, and general aura of darkness, Nico didn't seem like a bad guy. He gave her a wicked grin, that glimmer in his obsidian eyes mischievous enough to rival Emmett's.

"And we're going to pop over and see my cousin, Percy. I gotta talk to him."

* * *

**Author's Note: Blaaaaah! Sorry for the wait! My life has been relatively busy lately. (Mother had surgery, went to a concert out-of-state with friends, went on a trip with friends, parties, resisting the urge to beat my head open because of other people's stupidity, etc. etc.)**

**Also, sorry for this complete and utter piece of shit. The next chapter will be better, but I had to get this out. The idea of Nico getting his memories back bit by bit hit me some time ago and I figured it'd be best to introduce it now. He might seem off in character in this chapter, but fear not! Nico will be as quippy and badass as ever, what with his memory gainage and new companion who will bug the all loving fuck out of him. Not to mention the group of royally pissed off vampires and shape-shifters hot on his ass.**

**I took all of your reviews and the answer to the question 'Should Nico go to school?' is an obvious 'YES.' **

**Also, don't worry about starting a flame war on your opinions. I won't let it happen. It's your opinion and everyone is free to express it so long as it's not arrogantly stated. Besides, I totally agree with many of you.**

**Wizards/Vampires that turn out to be demigods totally piss me off. **_**Especially**_** in the Harry Potter series. I don't know why, but it irritates me. Yes, there are some rare exceptions to that, depending on how well-written the story is. I've been wanting to write a fic where the demigods go over and totally kickass left and right. When it comes to teams, I'm Team Demigod. Scratch that. I'm Team Well-Written Badass Characters. (**_**Which are usually demigods.)**_** -coughs- Who said that?**

**Also, if you're wondering why there are two different scents for Nico, it should be obvious. The potion Hecate gave him alters his scent. When he takes it, he smells human. When it wears off, he smells like demigod. 'Nuff said.**

**If you couldn't tell, I'm not fluent in Italian, nor do I pretend to be. I tried, however, to be as correct as possible for the sake of writing. (You have no idea how much research I do to write, trying to get everything correct and all that. I don't like putting the wrong information down.)**

**Would you guys like the translations next time? I could add the translation next chapter. (And if anyone who knows Italian would care to correct me, by all means, I would love to have the proper terms.)**

**Anywho...**

**Next time on Shadow of your Smile, chapter 7:**

**Nico crashes in on Percy's dorm and the two talk.**

**Annabeth intimidates the all loving fuck out of Renesmee (because who doesn't she intimidate?)**

**Nico starts using '30s slang (it's part of the memory gain)**

**Nico visits the Gods and gets told to get his ass in school.**

**Renesmee ends up back at her home with some seriously pissed off family members.**

**And more! So stay tuned, because you know you love it.**

**QUESTION TIME:**** What should Renesmee's nickname be for Nico since he finds her name absolutely ridiculous and refuses to use it?**

**/end of the obscenely long author's note.**


	7. A Tutti

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING. Pjato belongs to Rick Riordan and Twilight belongs to .**

* * *

Previously: _"There was another unsteady silence. The four vampires, converged at the last known spot their missing member was seen, were teetering on the edge of losing control. Their natural feral vampire sides wanted to come out, to tear everything in their path down and to find Renesmee. Vampires are fiercely protective creatures. Whoever this kid was, he picked the wrong coven to mess with. They took on the Volturi and got away unscathed. One kid could not be an issue, right?"_

_"She trailed off with a hardly concealed frightened look. It was clear what she wanted to say. Everyone was thinking the same thing. 'What if they die?' Death was an odd, foreign concept to them. True, they faced it once while transitioning into vampirism, but actual death? No. It scared them, all of them, to think of the others gone. Just pillars of purple smoke dissipating into the atmosphere. Jasper put a hand on his wife's shoulder, using his powers to calm her and the others down. With a sigh, Carlisle ran a hand through his hair before looking at the puzzling letter once more._

_"I believe I have some translating to do." '_

_"And we're going to pop over and see my cousin, Percy. I gotta talk to him."_

* * *

By the time Edward, Bella, Rosalie, and Emmett arrived back home, much of the wreckage had been disposed of, leaving an empty shell of a downstairs. There were still chunks of the wall missing, and nearly the entire sheet of glass paneling was destroyed that overlooked the southern half of the forest. Cracks and holes littered the multiple rooms on every surface. Some of the apertures had a distinct, claw-like modeling to them, while others were slim and reminded them of a sword being thrust into the wall. Then, there were the larger, less distinguishable clefts and indents, almost as if something incredibly large was slammed into the wall with tremendous force. There was also the copious amounts of golden dust layering the room, piled in crevices, but mostly settled into a pile near the further left corner of the room. Carlisle would be collecting a sample of the strange remnants and testing it to see if it matched with any known form of dust and for what reason it covered the crime scene.

The group previously on a manhunt for Renesmee hadn't had time to truly observe the house after the attack. Even with the broken shards of the furniture gone, it was still shockingly horrific. It left so many unanswered questions frothing in their minds. _'Who could have done this? Or, WHAT could have done this? Why did they do this? What does it mean? Are the Volturi involved?'_ Many, if not all the members of the Cullen Clan firmly believed that the rulers of the Vampire world did, in fact, have a hand in this mayhem. Who else would hold such a grudge against them? They did their best to lay low and keep peace with everyone to keep events like this from occurring!

As Bella's eyes swept across the ruins, she bit her lip. Even as a vampire, she found some human traits hard to lose. It also didn't help that they, being the Cullens and Hales, actively tried to appear human by picking up said traits. With Edward, it was running his hand through his hair and pinching the bridge of his nose, as she so dearly noted many years ago. Carlisle had the habit of fixing what he was wearing, be it a lab coat or a tie. Esme liked to clasp and unclasp her hands. Alice, well, she just bounced around as if she were on a continuous sugar rush. Jasper would fold his arms across his chest in a protective manner or hold them behind his back while he paced back and forth. Rosalie would also fold her arms across her chest, stand in an akimbo stance, one hand on her hip and stare in a way that got her the nickname 'Ice Queen'. Emmett, to a lesser degree, was like Alice, always moving, though not in quite a flourishing and pronounced manner. He wasn't one to stand too still for long either. For them, they had to train them selves to act in such a way to fit in with the humans. It's not common to see humans standing stone still, unblinking, for hours on end.

They didn't need to be Jasper to realize that the emotions were thick, nearly palpable, in the atmosphere. It nearly hummed with such fierce intensity, singing psalms to their anguish and gorging their fears that once again, everything in their almost disgustingly perfect life was not quite so perfect. It wouldn't be, no, it _couldn't_ be perfect again until Nessie was back with them, safe and sound. Edward, unlike Bella, handled stress much differently. Unlike so many years ago when his wife was still human, he did not run away, could not find a way to blame himself. He tried, he did, but even he found himself grasping at straws of self-loathing. Was he really so brooding? Apparently. Now, oh now he was just purely seething, an emotion stemming from the fact that he was also completely and utterly scared shitless by the fact that his daughter is missing and there's a strange creature targeting them. Oh, and _they couldn't seem to do a God damned thing about it!_

He wasted no time, only stopping for a millisecond to look at the rooms, before running off to find his 'father'. Carlisle was sitting in his study, pouring over several texts with a sheer black note at the center of it all. Every so often, he'd flick up to look at the letter and then continue scrounging for the translation. Despite his feelings of torment and spite, Edward approached with caution and respect. Not only did he advance in such a way because Edward viewed Carlisle as his father and thought it more appropriate, but for a few other reasons. Despite the general congenial nature of the family, they are still vampires, and with that fact came some baser instincts. Carlisle is the leader, and as such, was to be approached with regard for his status. Even unconsciously, the others followed said instincts.

Also, Carlisle looked positively nonplussed and vexed. He had one hand ensnared in his golden hair and the other scribbling furiously onto a sheet of paper. The more he wrote, the further he read, and the more often he looked at the letter, the more perplexed and agitated he became. His thoughts were a complete mess; a torrent of jumbled mystification and repressed scepticism. Edward need not try to make sense of it as he would only get lost in the odd tangent of thoughts as well. He cleared his throat slightly, catching the head of house off-guard; a rarity in the vampire world.

Carlisle blinked rapidly at the apparent sudden approach of Edward. The young vampire gave him a rather curious look. With a sigh, Carlisle slumped back into his seat, fingers pressing against his left temple while he motioned for the youth to sit with the other hand. In response, Edward gave a curt nod and swept gracefully to the seat. He couldn't help but let his ocher eyes sweep across the text-ladden table before looking to his 'father'. In a bit he'd get to the questioning of the uncharacteristic agitation so clear upon his otherwise pacified leader. For now, he had some important information to discuss. As he spoke, Edward could hear the desperation on his tongue.

"Carlisle, we seen her. She was with the boy we were looking for earlier. She left with him. _She left with him!_ Renesmee knew we were there and just vanished with him, quite literally! Now we don't know where she is. What if-'

His voice broke with the painful emotions bearing down on him like a weight. It seemed to swell within his throat and choke him of his words. Subtly, he could feel Jasper trying to relax him. It brought him little comfort. Carlisle waited patiently for him to continue, concerned honey-colored eyes trained on his son. Edward took a calming, unneeded breath, then continued on.

"What if she doesn't come back? I don't think I can live without her. My daughter!"

A laugh without a trace humor, only bitter denial, scathed the air. Edward was still in a state of shock, part of him refusing to believe his daughter was truly gone. Carlisle's gaze, so compassionate and wise, seemed to eat away unintentionally at the delusion. His silence, stretching on as to encompass Edward's rant, left the worried copper-headed vampire to unintentionally unravel his own self-deception. The more he spoke his mind, untangling his thoughts, the more the old fury gave way to devastation and a sense of manic desperation. He was nearly at the edge of his seat, confiding to who he viewed as his father, clinging on to a proverbial thread of hope.

There was a gleam in Edward's eyes, one Carlisle knew all too well. A father's worry for his child. All those events leading up to this, all the heartache and uncertainty had the same gleam shining in his own eyes. He knew, however, that this was different. This was Renesmee. His biological daughter. The one that could never be. There was a bond between Edward and her Carlisle could only dream of having. He knew it would never happen to him. With the tolerance of a Saint he's become known for, he comforted his 'son'. Carlisle knew that a meeting was in order, but he allowed it to wait. Privacy, however flimsy it may be in this house, was a small gift he could give Edward at a time like this.

Soon enough, his eldest creation calmed down, a stoic look ensnaring his marble-like features. The blonde vampire resisted the strong temptation to sigh, knowing very well his son was reverting back to a state of near comatose akin to the way he was when he learned Bella was pregnant. Despite Edward being able to read his mind, Carlisle knew Edward would take more comfort out of the spoken words at this time. As he stood, Edward mimicked his actions, and Carlisle rested a reassuring hand on the other's shoulder.

"Come, Edward. You know we must discuss this with the rest. Don't lose faith just yet. We have come this far. Now would not be the time to fall to pieces."

Edward nodded minutely. Carlisle pulled him forward into a strong embrace, attempting to push away all that was troubling his son. Yet again, he wished to have Jasper's power, or at least some sort of useful ability, so he could bring peace where it is needed. He wasn't aware that his sheer presence and mindless gestures of unconditional love brought more serenity to others than even an empath could. Edward returned the hug fiercely, drawing in comfort from his creator, before pulling back and nodding once more.

Upon exiting, Edward noted the books and letter clasped in Carlisle's hand, as well as the flurry of concerned thoughts coming from the kitchen. They had either been listening to the conversation, Alice had told them of the meeting to take place, or perhaps a combination of the two. He knew that there was no true privacy within the house, unless, of course, one considers the walls between them privacy enough.

As they entered their unofficial conference room, all eyes were on them. Several sets of eyes trained solely on Edward with a pitying look. The thoughts weren't helping him one bit. The irritation must have been obvious on his face, as soon enough, all thoughts were cutoff. He shot a grateful look to Bella as he sat down in his usual seat. The gap between the two of them, the empty seat where _she_ should be, seemed to claw at their senses. Silence never seemed quite so loud to them.

Just as Carlisle was about to speak, Jacob burst into the house, thankfully clothed in human form. His face was wrung with emotion. At the overload, Jasper had to suppress a groan as he clenched his eyes shut, trying to keep from radiating the emotions back out. Alice looked at him worriedly. She grasped his larger, scarred hand into hers tightly, reassuringly, and tried to send him all the contentment and love she could muster. Little by little, she could see his shoulders sag and a slight sigh passed his lips. As mentioned once before, long ago, Jasper and Alice needed no words to communicate. Their relationship was deeper than that. A small curl of the lip was all Alice needed to see to know how he was feeling. Him sending her the same amorous emotion back with reinforced strength only helped her with that assumption. She flashed him a wide grin, pulling herself closer to him and curling up at his side. Lost in their own world as Jasper put his arm around her, as if to protect her from the negativity around them, they did not fully realize they were being a distraction until Rosalie shattered their personal bubble with sharp words.

"Guys, we're glad you love each other and everything, but we don't need to feel it. We're trying to figure out where Renesmee is, if you don't mind. The mutt here found nothing on his expedition."

Alice and Jasper sat up a little straighter, contrite with having been so oblivious for the moment. It was just so easy for them to get lost together. Carlisle cleared his throat, bringing the attention back to him. It was then that they realized the couple of books spread out and opened before him.

"Thank you, Rosalie. Now, for those of you who are unaware, while searching in Port Angeles, Edward, Bella, Rosalie, and Emmett seen Renesmee.'

At that, Jacob, the only one _not_ having heard of this in some way, perked up. Then, as if thunderstruck, his face fell infinitesimally.

"Wait, Doc, what do you mean _seen?_"

It was clear across her face that Rosalie was holding back from saying something snippy to the Quileute. Despite her dislike of him, she knew he cared deeply for Renesmee and she could respect that enough to leave his stupidity alone. For now. Carlisle gave him that grin doctors give patients or family members about to receive particularly devastating news. It was meant to be a kind gesture, a habit really, but in no way did it bring any form of comfort to Jacob, only dread.

"Well, Jacob, they had _seen_ her at a Bistro not too far up the street. She seemed to be talking to the boy we were looking for earlier. We believe he may be a halfblood as well. Anyway, as they were about to approach, it seems she was alerted of their presence and, ah, panicked. She fled with him. Vanished, is a more appropriate term, I suppose."

There was a moment of heavy silence. All of the vampires were simply awaiting the outburst sure to come. A shape-shifter whose imprint is not only missing, but willingly left with another guy? There was no possible way it would turn out well. And he certainly did not disappoint. It was Jasper's calming effect that kept him full-out transforming inside their kitchen. His body quivered viciously, one could almost _see_ the heat rising off of his skin.

"WHAT?! YOU JUST LET HER LEAVE?! What the HELL kind of family are you?! YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW THE KID! HE COULD BE DEADLY! What if he's working with the Volturi!? You know Aro wanted her badly! Who knows what the sick f-'

His furious tirade was cut off by the almost monotone voice of Alice. Her eyes appeared to be glazed over. The way Jasper focused on her instead of the possibly deadly shape shifter having a mental breakdown across from him only reaffirmed the suspicion that she was in the midst of a vision.

"The Volturi are not involved. They don't even know anything is amiss here. Aro is planning a ball of some form. He wants to invite us. He'll be calling within the next couple of days for Carlisle."

Again, an uneasy silence blanketed the inhabitants of the room. Emmett couldn't help but snort in disbelief. _'Really? A ball?'_ To him, it just seemed so silly to be throwing a ball at this time. Then again, Aro was unaware of the turmoil happening in the family. Jacob was still fuming, resisting the urge to break everything in sight, vampires included. It was a very good thing Bella was blocking Edward's ability at the moment, because the thoughts pacing the Quileute's mind were none-too-pleasing. Carlisle sighed heavily and ran a hand through his hair before looking directly at Jacob.

"Please understand we're trying our best to locate Renesmee. She is your imprint, yes, and your reaction is understandable, but she is also our family. She's Edward and Bella's daughter. Do you believe they'd let her just go with a potentially dangerous stranger? As said, they _vanished._ It appears to be his ability."

At the words, Jacob let out a low, guttural growl, but took deep, relaxing breaths, trying to calm himself down. When he suddenly felt a wave of contentment, almost similar to that of Novocaine, he shot Jasper a dark look. He hated when vampires used their gifts on him, even if it was to help or in a kind gesture. Bella spoke up for the first time in the meeting.

"What are we going to do about the Volturi then? Would they be of any help locating her? I mean, they should know of someone who could just teleport everywhere, right? That's their thing, powerful gifts."

Carlisle frowned, contemplating the situation. With a glance to his left, he knew the strategist of the family had a plan. Almost imperceptibly, he nodded at Jasper. The empath nodded back before looking at his family and speaking, his southern drawl more prominent with the thick emotions all around.

"It'd be a bad idea to inform the Volturi of our current..._predicament._ Yes, they may be able to help, but do you think they really would? If they want to break us apart that bad and take you three-'

At this, he pointed at Alice, Edward, and Bella.

'in to their guard, would they pass up a chance where we're particularly weak? No. We can not let them know. Ignorance is bliss, so let them stay blissfully ignorant. We have allies we can turn to. As for the Ball, I think it'd be rather silly to attend, but we can discuss that when we hit that crossroad. For now, we have to figure this out without the Volturi figuring out Renesmee is missing."

Carlisle was about to continue on, motioning toward the enigmatic letter, when the door flew open. Seth stumbled in frantically and every vampire in the room's head whipped to his direction. His heart was thundering so furiously that they were afraid he was going to have a heart attack.

"Guys! Leah and I were running, you know, looking for Ness, when we came across this weird old house, like straight out of horror movie creepy, and we were gonna leave it go, 'cus you know, it was creepy, when I got hold of a scent. So I went up and, well, umm...It...It smelt like the thing that destroyed your living room. I think we found its hideout."

* * *

Nico and Renesmee made their way down the street mostly in silence. She noticed how jumpy he was, which she found both odd and comical. Every so often his head would flick around indiscreetly, as if looking out for something. It seemed like he was expecting something to happen. He seemed to have a habit of playing with his ring as well. More often than not, he'd be touching his ring unconsciously. She just walked quietly beside him, her hands in her back pockets. To be honest, she was kind of scared to meet Nico's cousin. While she wasn't exactly scared of Nico (total lie, she is), she had no clue who 'Percy' was. If Nico's like this, it made her wonder if Percy was this bad, or God forbid, even worse.

They kept getting very odd looks from passerbys. While Nico appeared very off-standish and intimidating, he wasn't bad looking. In fact, he was rather handsome, in that bad boy sort of way. Apparently, she wasn't the only female to notice. While she's used to be looked at, she guessed Nico wasn't. When someone would look at him for a length of time he deemed too long, he'd give the most terrifying look she had ever seen, and that's saying something considering her family is all vampires and her friends are shape shifters.

In truth, Nico was utterly paranoid about walking down the street. Yes, he was used to being hit on, and hardly none of them were intriguing by any means. They were all the same to him, but he wasn't comfortable being stared at. He didn't know if the one staring at him was a monster in disguise, so he'd give them his 'Death Glare' to see how they responded. Well, so far they've all been normal human beings. Renesmee kept shooting him weird looks when he'd glare at someone. He just quirked a brow at her as if saying, _'You gotta problem with it?'_ She backed off, as he expected.

So caught in his own overly suspicious bubble, he didn't notice all the guys staring at Renesmee in less-than-gentlemanly ways, not that he'd really care if he did notice. Hey, he's got his own problems to worry about. She could deal with hormonal guys all on her own. Living around Aphrodite's and Eros' children is far worse than this. Especially those damn sneaky Eros kids. He's gotten caught up in some very odd situations because of those little bastards.

It was only when some guy across the street started yelling at Renesmee that Nico actually paid attention. When he heard what the man was saying, however, he could feel anger brewing up inside him. _'Were these people raised to be assholes, or did they take classes for this shit?'_ His teeth ground together in irritation. It's not that he had any particular feeling for Renesmee, I mean, he just met the girl, but call it the chivalrous hero in him, what they were saying was getting to him. If he ever heard anyone saying such salacious things to his sister, Gods help the stronzo who said it because he'd slaughter them in the most inhumane way possible. Have fun in the Fields of Punishment.

He didn't realize what he was doing until Renesmee was pulling at his arm, trying to coax him back from the street.

"C'mon Nico, it's not that bad. I'm used to it. There's been worse. Just ignore them, he's an idiot."

Somewhere in that soft little heart of hers, Renesmee was touched that Nico was ready to storm over and no doubt do something he'd get arrested for in her honor. Of course, she didn't know that it wasn't actually for her honor that he was doing it, but more so that he was thinking about what ingrates these guys are. He may not be the kindest or most well-mannered guy, but he'd be damned if he spoke that horribly to a female. Call him crazy, but he was raised better than that. When she said she's used to it, she had worse, he paused, giving her an odd look. She should also be damned glad she's part vampire or he'd already be across that street. Had she known he wasn't part vampire at all, she'd be floored at the amount of strength she had to use to hold him back.

"You're used to this shit? No, you shouldn't be! 'The hell are they teachin' these ginks? I'm close to fitting him with a Chicago overcoat. Mug should be glad he got a skirt to stop me."

As he spoke, his tone began to change. Renesmee stared at him more and more curiously the clearer it became. By the time he had stopped speaking, he sounded hardly like the cold and sarcastic teenager she knows, but older. It reminded her of some old movies she would watch with her family. What was the one called again? _Angels with Dirty Faces_, that was it. The way he spoke, the lilt of his tone, it reminded her of the way they spoke in that movie. She couldn't fathom as to why he would suddenly start speaking like that. It just didn't seem like him. Well, she couldn't really go as far as to judge what is him and what isn't, considering she doesn't know him well at all.

Nico, all the while, was glaring venomously at the guy, unknowing of his vocal faux-pas. The man, upon seeing Nico, had begun to pick up on the vileness of his words. Only, this time, he directed the words at Nico. That is, until he actually _seen_ Nico. Upon taking in the imposing black-clad being with a glare harsh enough to make a mountain tremble, his astringent remarks died on his lips. A dread, pure in form, boiled in his gut.

Then, he felt it.

Renesmee caught the look on Nico's face and immediately knew something bad was going to happen. The look of sheer animosity and vindication flaring in his pure black eyes, the malicious little curl of the lips in a grotesque smile, none of it spoke anything good. She followed his dark look, only to find the man previously shouting obscenities standing petrified, staring right back. The whites of his eyes so prominent, his pupils dilated, even from here she could smell the fear on him, the body's natural reaction producing the pheromone. Immediately, she tried to stop Nico from doing whatever it was that he was doing. What happened next caught her by utter surprise.

How could Nico let this guy go without scaring the fuck out of him first? Gods know he deserved it. In fact, he was mildly surprised Artemis herself didn't appear and turn the asshole into a jackalope and shoot him. He's the perfect example of what she despises in men. So, in her place, Nico just used a little shadow manipulation to achieve the desired 'scared' level. He only had to concentrate a little to send a tendril from the guy's shadow slithering up the victim's spine like a snake. By the wide-eyed stare he got, Nico suspected the guy felt it. With a cocky grin and slight tilt of the head, as if looking at something curious, the shadow snagged the guy by the collar of the shirt and pulled him roughly off his feet. The man screamed as he fell back into the shadows. Nico was sorely tempted to frighten him further, but resisted because the man was already drawing a crowd, who, no doubt, seen something weird happen because of the mist. The mist, while covering the magical side of life, was not always kind to demigods and only made their lives harder.

Without hesitation, Nico turned on his heels and started back down the street. Renesmee had to do a double-take, completely shocked at what she had just seen, only to find Nico halfway down the sidewalk. She jogged swiftly to catch up with him.

"Nico! What the hell was that?! How did you do that? _Why_ did you do that? I know the guy was a jerk, but you didn't have to scare him so badly!"

At that, Nico shot her an indignant look. As he spoke, the sarcasm was positively dripping from his lips.

"Oh, I'm _so sorry_ for scaring that asshole. He _definitely_ didn't deserve that. You know, because he's such a _model, upstanding gentleman_. Would you like me to go back and apologize? While we're at it, how about you go and thank him for all those kind words. I'm certain your family would have simply _loved_ to hear them."

After his small tirade, Renesmee looked absolutely scandalized at the harsh quality of his tone. What did she expect? He just did her a favor and she's acting like he did something wrong! This time, his voice took on a tone of flippant disregard.

"Seriously, you need to wake up and get over your notion that all is good. That bastard got only a fraction of what he deserved. You should be damn happy that's all I did. And don't think I did it for your benefit. I'm not that nice."

If she felt scandalized before, she felt positively affronted now. Who was he to talk to her like that? All she's been was nice to him and he's been acting like such an...an ass! Just because she said he didn't need to act so harshly didn't mean he had to snap at her like that! She pursed her lips, an obviously angry look capturing her features. Like her mother, she inherited the nasty habit of blushing at everything, and that's just what she was doing, blushing furiously.

For a while, she said nothing to him, giving him the cold shoulder. To him, it was amusing to see her reaction. _'The silent treatment, really?'_ It bothered him naught. Hades, he practically lived in complete silence all the time, his voice his only company. That is, unless he calls up some minions from the Underworld to play cards with. As Renesmee looked over to him, she became even more irritated that her lack of response was doing nothing to him. In fact, he looked like he was having a good time! _'Well! I'll just have to show him, won't I?'_

Now, Renesmee, being the sheltered little half-breed she is, doesn't know Nico in the slightest bit. Anything short of cursing his family out would just make him laugh. For as long as he could truly remember, he's been learning to fight, kill, to survive. He fought in two wars that would make both World Wars look like playground squabbles! Like her pout would do anything to him. He's the son of the fucking God of the Underworld! So, any attempt she makes at getting to the male in black would fare fruitless. Of course, she doesn't know that.

She's used to everyone tripping over themselves to tend to her. This ignorance of her wants was completely foreign to her and off-putting. Naturally, she did what she normally would back home. She stopped dead in her tracks, her arms folded across her chest and a displeased look on her face. This would work marvels with her family.

Nico noticed she stopped and turned around to look at her, already being a couple of steps ahead. What he seen nearly made him double over with laughter. She was staring at him like a child that wasn't getting her way or, Gods' forbid, a girlfriend that was upset with her boyfriend. He rasped out a laugh. Even that sounded sarcastic and condescending. He cocked a brow at her and put his hands in his pockets.

"So...You're just going to stand there until what? I apologize? Well, I guess you'll be standing there all day, doll. It ain't happening. If you aren't going to come, I'm leaving you here, I hope you know that."

She didn't move, fixing him with her sternest glare. He just stared right back with amusement. It was clear she wasn't budging. Well, she inherited the stubborn gene, that's for certain. Nico simply shrugged before turning around.

"Alright bim, you ain't puttin' me behind the eight ball. I'm driftin'. See ya 'round."

Again, she was puzzled by his sudden change in voice. It was almost like he was two different people, but she didn't let that change her current posture. But, just as he said, he was leaving. He turned and started walking off merrily. Well, as merrily as Nico could be. She stood there for a little longer, waiting for him to come back for her. However, that wasn't happening. She was getting some very strange looks now, just standing in the middle of the sidewalk, scowling. Truthfully, she was starting to get nervous. It was clear he wasn't coming back for her. _'But he has to! He can't just leave me here!'_

Well, she was right about one thing, Nico wasn't going to just leave her there. He simply wasn't going back to her and giving her her way. Why should he? It was clear she always got her way and he just loved seeing the look on her face when he befuddled her with his actions and attitude. Seriously, has she ever been told 'no'? Probably not. He was currently leaning against a brick wall, melding into the shadows easily. No one even noticed him standing there as they passed by. No one found it odd either that they all subconsciously walked around him.

Renesmee didn't wait any longer as her nervousness won out over her stubbornness. _'Well, maybe I was being a little childish. That guy was being really vulgar and what Nico did wasn't that bad, right?'_ Naturally, once she's shown she won't be given her way, she rolls over and submits. While he found her amusing, he definitely needed to work on her growing a backbone of her own. A slight tingling sensation began to creep across his body. The potion was wearing off. Almost reflexively he brought out the vial and drank it all down, repressing a disgusted sound from rupturing in his chest. _'Seriously? She couldn't make it taste a little better?'_ He shrugged it off. _'Eh, at least she didn't poison me. It could be worse.'_

Soon enough, a head of bronze curls passed him by, completely oblivious to him hiding in the shadows. She was clearly looking for him though. Every now and again she'd sniff the air subtly, looking for his trail. Well, at least she was doing something right. However, when she passed him, she came to an end of the trail. Panic overtook her. She was well aware that he could just disappear whenever he wanted. Is that what he did? She stopped, wringing her hands and looking around. He crept closer, being cautious as to not alert her of strange moving shadows. That'd certainly give him away.

"Oh, I knew I should have just went along with him. I was being so silly! Now I'm stuck here, all alone and it's all my fault. Why can't I just listen?"

Nico was surprised she couldn't _hear_ his eyes rolling at her soliloquy. It was almost irritating how soft she is. Nico is definitely going to change that. Besides, and he smiled wickedly at this, wouldn't it be _hilarious_ to see her family's reaction to a new-and-improved Nico-ized Renesmee? With a dark chuckle, he slipped from his hiding. She jumped in shock at his sudden appearance.

"Really? You are _such_ a pushover! I was being just as much a dick as you were being a child. If you're going to hang around with me, you really need to get over your...yellow-ness. It's kinda sad really. I will never be able to take you seriously unless you start, I don't know, standing up for yourself."

After getting over her initial shock, she was too happy to see him to actually take what he said to heart. Without thinking, she jumped at him, wrapping him in a tight hug. Yeah, she really doesn't know Nico. Had he not been a demigod, he would have just stood still in surprise. Nope, he's a demigod, and he has been graced with demigod reflexes. As soon as she jumped on him, he wrenched his hands out and grabbed her, spinning quicker than humanly possible, and slammed her against the brick wall. To outside eyes, they just looked like an amorous young couple. She jumps on him, he pins her against the wall. Yada yada, everyone knows where it goes from there.

However, it wasn't quite so simple. She was, yet again, stunned by his actions. He was stunned by her as well. Nobody touches him. Ever. Unless, of course, you're a God, you're Percy, or you're some very rare exception like Thalia, Annabeth, or Grover. Both of their eyes were the size of dinner plates as they just stared at each other. He broke it first, glaring at her and speaking in an almost growling tone, his face getting uncomfortably close to hers.

"Don't _ever_ do that again. I don't even let most of my family touch me. I'm not one of your friends. Most that jump at me get skewered."

He was telling the truth about all of that. Most of his family being the demigods, most that jump at him are monsters, which he usually stabs on the spot with his sword, and he didn't consider her a friend. Not yet. It takes a lot more to be considered his 'friend'. He's scared to call someone a friend in fear of being betrayed again. He's been two-timed too many times to be considered healthy.

At his tone of voice, his close proximity, and his words, Renesmee paled. She was ready to cry. Again, she's not used to people reacting in such a manner to her. Renesmee is just a tad emotional. Who on Earth could she have got that from? Nodding tearfully, she couldn't find her voice to speak. He backed up, an odd expression on his face. She only glanced at him, finding herself favoring staring at the ground instead. Nico stood uncomfortably. He didn't mean to make her cry, he really didn't. Being touched like that scares him almost as much as being chased by a horde of monsters. Maybe more so.

They walked on in silence again. Nico actually found himself feeling bad about his actions. Mentally, he was berating himself over and over. _'If mother was alive, she'd be so disappointed in me. I just know it. I feel like I should apologize, but...but father tells me apologizing is being weak and that I'm not allowed to be weak. Weakness will get me killed.'_ He was at a crossroads, none of the paths looking to promising. If Renesmee were to look up at his expression at this very moment, she'd see a pain foreign to her. Deep and pure pain. However, she didn't look up, too busy trying unsuccessfully to hide her tears. She was so confused, so conflicted at this point. However, the main thought filtering through her mind was: _'This was a mistake. I never should have come.'_

Almost as if he could read her mind, Nico let out a heavy sigh. His shoulders were wrought straight with tension._'Sorry Father, but this time you're wrong.' _He refused to look at her. It was hard enough to apologize, there was no way he could do it while looking at her. She's crying for fucksake! He started off, mumbling slightly before clearing his throat and speaking more clearly. Right now, he'd much rather be fighting the Minotaur than saying sorry.

"Look, Calico,'

At that Renesmee, looked at him oddly. He was, however, still looking off into the distance, trying to tone down the awkwardness and embarrassment he felt at the moment. However, he plowed on, trying to get it over with as quickly as possible, like ripping off a band-aid.

"I'm...sorry for my reaction. I was just raised to be on guard all the time. Where _I'm_ from isn't like where _you're_ from. I'm used to trying to be killed."

She listened intently to his words. There was a reluctance, she could feel it coming from him, that he didn't want to share this with her. There was also a tone of steel in his words. A strength that astounded her. For a moment, she could see past the snarky sonofabitch she's been around for the past couple of hours. Of one thing she was certain, and that was that there was something decidedly divine about him. He contained a sort of fortitude, a courage so profound and absolute, it was almost intimidating.

It was then that she finally realized what it was about his scent that was so easily traceable. Everybody has a scent uniquely their own. Nico's, she had pondered it subconsciously. Renesmee liked to familiarize herself with others scents so she knew who was around and just in case she had to look for them. His scent was unique, even for a half-breeds. It smelled nothing of a vampire's, not even a trace. There was a smell of dirt, mint, and poplar to him. He smelled like a normal human, except for the underlying aroma. It was almost as if something was suppressing part of his smell, but it was so minute that she figured it was just the part of the vampire in him that was hidden. Who knows, perhaps his human half was stronger than his vampire? Anyway, the fragrance was nothing like she was used to. Even though it was hardly traceable, barely noticeable to even the most keen of noses, she noticed. It was almost archaic, a sense of power so enticing, she feared if it were any stronger, her vampiric half would be tempted to bite him. It was a scary thought, but it's what her feral side called for.

After hearing his explanation, she felt herself being swayed. For all she knew, he could be lying. Maggie was not here to use her gift and figure it out. However, something in her told her that he was being truthful. His posture, unconscious as it may be, indicated his hesitancy. She felt so bad for him, wanted to comfort him. How could she be so blind? It should have been clear that he didn't have the easiest upbringing. When he mentioned how he's used to almost being killed, she gaped at him. Now, she knew and remembered clearly how the Volturi wanted to kill her originally, and it wasn't a secret that the wolves had intended to kill her upon learning about her, but how often could it be that he reflexively reacted to being touched violently? Her heart went out to him and she knew that if Esme ever learned about his past, she'd probably hug him and never let go. The thought amused her greatly. The mental image was even more entertaining.

She cautiously reached out and rested a hand on his bicep. He flinched at the contact, drawing a frown from the half-breed. _'Was it really that bad?' _He looked first at her hand, an uncomfortable look on his face, before he looked at Renesmee's face. She seemed genuinely concerned about him and it was baffling. Why would she care about him? She doesn't even know him! It was an odd concept for someone to care about his well-being, aside from the few that were close to him. After being imprisoned by Gaea, he found that his father cared in the slightest bit, but would never show it, not like this. He wanted to embrace it, keep the benevolence and drown in it. The rare empathy threw him for a loop and he found himself mentally panicking. However, he could not let her see the uncertainty tainting his mind at the moment. He just gave her an empty, apathetic look before pulling away from her contact and continuing on.

"Come on, my cousin is expecting me."

She frowned at him as he pulled away from her both physically and emotionally. Renesmee was at a complete loss with him. He was so damned enigmatic! She just didn't know what to make of Nico and it was frustrating. One moment, he'll be joking with her, the next he'll be so angry, and the one moment he showed a thread of vulnerability, she treated it with sincere kindness, and he left her hanging there as if he wasn't affected in the least. _'It would be so useful to have dad or Uncle Jazz's powers right about now. Maybe then I could figure out what's going on in his head.'_ With a heaving sigh, she continued on behind him.

* * *

**Author's Note: Here's a strange coincidence. When Nico was apologizing (and hating it), the song "I Don't Apologize" by Otherwise came on.**

**Anywho, I hate this chapter with a capital LOATHE. It's not what I expected nor wanted, but it's what came as I continued on. It just deviated from what I had planned. However, I don't like to force my writing, so if this is what came out, it's what you got.**

**IF ANYONE NOTICES ANY PLOT HOLES OR INCONSISTENCIES, PLEASE INFORM ME OF THEM. I don't like having or want to have them in my stories.**

**I'm also thinking of changing the title to something along the lines of "They Call Me Bad Company/Call Me Bad Company" or something like that. I feel this story is more centered around Nico and his influence on Renesmee, though who knows? 99% of this chapter wasn't planned. Not the ball, not Nico hurting Renesmee, not the obscene guy, etc. etc. It just kinda flowed out. You got some touchy-feely fluff moments between Edward and Carlisle, Alice and Jasper, and Nico and Renesmee. That's more than I usually give. Ever. So be glad for that. I don't like fluff. Keep that in mind for the future. -Hint hint-**

**As for Renesmee's nickname, I'm still not set on one in particular. Nico might develop a tendency to call her Calico/Bearcat (when she gets fiestier), or something else of the sort. They're terms from the '30's. A bearcat is a hotblooded or fiery girl and they'd use the term 'A choice bit of Calico' to refer to a particularly attractive female, which, no doubt, Renesmee is. Whattaya think? Also, if you think him talking funny is OOC, well, it is. He's gaining his memories back the closer he is to becoming a God. Since he grew up for at least 10 years in the 30's-40's, he'd be used to such terms.**

**I also realize I failed to deliver this chapter with them meeting Percy, but it was just dragging on and I figured it'd make it better to just make it a new chapter. Plus my friend is on her way and I'd rather not drag this chapter on more than necessary. Hey, at least the story will be that much longer ;) The Note will be explained in the next chapter.**

**Thanks for all the reviews! While I'm not certain what the hell the one review meant, I appreciate that you took the time to write it and post it. I've heard of Hetalia, but I was never too interested in looking it up. (I'm not a big fan of anime) And don't worry about starting a 'war'. As said, I'm not going to let it happen, not on my story and not on my watch ;) Everyone has their opinion and I'm not gonna crucify you for it.**

**Question: How do you guys feel about more stories from me with Nico as the main character? I have plenty ideas.**

**Also, anyone interested in them actually attending the ball? I never actually intended on putting a Ball in this story, but as said, it just happened. It could give Nico a chance to spy further on the vampires as by the time they get the invitation, Renesmee will be back home and Nico will meet the Cullens. Still on the fence for it, though.**


	8. Un Uomo

**Disclaimer: I OWN NOTHING. Pjato belongs to Rick Riordan and Twilight belongs to SMeyer.**

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Previously: _"Guys! Leah and I were running, you know, looking for Ness, when we came across this weird old house, like straight out of horror movie creepy, and we were gonna leave it go, 'cus you know, it was creepy, when I got hold of a scent. So I went up and, well, umm...It...It smelt like the thing that destroyed your living room. I think we found its hideout."_

_"She frowned at him as he pulled away from her both physically and emotionally. Renesmee was at a complete loss with him. He was so damned enigmatic! She just didn't know what to make of Nico and it was frustrating. One moment, he'll be joking with her, the next he'll be so angry, and the one moment he showed a thread of vulnerability, she treated it with sincere kindness, and he left her hanging there as if he wasn't affected in the least. 'It would be so useful to have dad or Uncle Jazz's powers right about now. Maybe then I could figure out what's going on in his head.' With a heaving sigh, she continued on behind him."_

* * *

Upon hearing Seth's words, the congregation burst into a flurry of activity. A couple of the gathered were already making their way toward the door; no doubt to find this 'hideout' and hopefully apprehend this creature. However, Carlisle knew they couldn't all just bust down its door with no plan. If the thing is as powerful as he believes it will be, Carlisle feared casualties may ensue from their lack of tact. Before they could run out of the house, Carlisle's calming, yet stern voice broke out over the mayhem.

" Everybody wait. We can not just rush the home of a potentially dangerous being without some semblance of a plan."

There were grunts and growls at the words, though all knew he was right. It would be incredibly foolish for them to simply storm the hideout of this creature. They all shifted uneasily, wanting to simply go ahead and solve this damned mystery already! They're vampires and shape shifters; the strongest, deadliest beings on this Earth. They had stood up to the _Volturi _and lived to tell the tale. Not only that, but they made the Volturi, the rulers of the Vampires, back away in fear of losing. What one being could possible be a threat to them?

Naturally, they wouldn't know that the one being to cause such a panic is the offspring of the God of the Dead; something they should be. Had they known, they surely would not be so arrogant in their thoughts. He alone could send them hurdling to the underworld with one thrust of his Stygian sword into the hearth and a few Greek words. He had done it before and could certainly do it again.

Within a hair's breadth, they were converged once more. This time, however, they convened in the spacious living room to draw up a swift plan of attack, so to speak. The tension was clear across each face, etched in marble and warm flesh, depicting but small portions of the bearers persona. Carlisle took a brief pause, unnoticeable to mere humans, to gather his wits and study each face looking at him so expectantly. With a unnecessary sigh, he began voicing his plan.

"I believe it would be best for only a few to go inspect the being's hideout. The others should remain here in case it or Renesmee returns."

His hesitancy was well hidden under his calm stoicism. Hesitance brought on by the almost challenging looks cast both his direction and amongst one another. All wanted to go and each were silently trying to figure out which of the unlucky few would be left behind on guard duty. To them, being told to stay behind probably alludes to the leader's beliefs of their incompetency. It's a silly thing to believe, considering it's Carlisle they are referring to holding such judgemental thoughts, but it could not be helped. They each wanted vindication as well as to prove to the leader they are capable. It's an unconscious desire, to prove their worth, but well within their fundamental nature. A murmured agreement was all Carlisle needed before he continued on.

"I know each of you believe you should go for one reason or another, but it would be very unwise to leave the home front unprotected, as well as leave an off-chance of a surprise, ah, _visit_ by either or. With that, I would suggest that Jasper, Emmett, Bella, Jacob, and Seth go inspect the cabin. I will be going as well. The rest of you, being Esmé, Alice, Edward, and Rosalie, should stay behind."

He knew he would receive backlash for the division of the clan. So, it came as no surprise to the furious responses. His calm façade never wavered for a moment. The loudest protest came, as expected, from Edward.

"Carlisle, surely you can't be serious! She's my daughter, I _have_ to go!"

His tirade went on, only punctuated by the equally irate demurral from Rosalie. Again, it came as no shocker. He knew how much the usually coolly composed blonde cared for Renesmee, the child she can never have but always wanted. Waiting for a moment, allowing them to expel their anger upon the air with lashing tongues, Carlisle finally rose his hand and cut them off. Only among their kind could such a minute gesture be taken so forcefully. While they worked as closely to the human kind as they can, they could never truly suppress their instincts. Once their complaints died away, he spoke calmly, hoping to reason with them through logic, though the underlying tone of steel in his words made it clear there would be no disagreeing with him. His word is final. His word is law.

"I know both of you wish to retrieve Renesmee and figure out if this being is to be implicated for her disappearance, but I have a reason for my decision."

Their disagreement was clear in their expressions, but they held their words back in favor of listening to the head of their clan. He would have valid reasoning behind his decision, they knew it, but they feared just what reason it would be. They would want to protest, but they knew they would not be able to. Carlisle, taking their silence as a gesture to continue, did just that.

"I would like at least a near even amount to go and to stay. We are trying for an amicable approach. To arrive with so many may be viewed as an aggressive front and may also call for the being to be aggressive in return, should it be there, that is."

It was a reasonable response and they could see the truth in it. If the roles were reversed, they'd view such an approaching force as a possible fight. After all, the Cullen Clan had more than once been told that to have so many members, and to have them all approach together, at least in the vampire world, would more often than not be seen as a will to battle. It is nearly unheard of to have so many vampires together for a peaceful reason. Only Carlisle's preceding reputation withheld many offensive retaliations. The being may not know of Carlisle's pacifist nature. One can only hope.

Still, it did not explain why _they_ had to stay behind and not the others. Jacob was understandable, so was Seth as he knew the way. Bella could be reasoned with. It was Jasper and Emmett they felt they could replace. Sure, Jasper was the tactical leader and Emmett was the brawn, but Edward and Rosalie had better reasons to go, right? Seeing the impatience drawing tension across everyone's shoulders, Carlisle plowed on ahead, knowing the next part would be the worst.

"Also, I believe it would be better if you two help guard the home front. Edward, Rosalie, on the off-chance this being _does_ have information, or God forbid, have Renesmee herself, I cannot trust you two to remain calm. Neither of you are known for your self-control when it comes to matters close to the heart. Edward, Bella will be blocking us all with her shield, rendering your power useless, so that is no excuse. Jacob is going as he can contact Sam and the other pack quicker than we can. It may also give us an edge to have the wolves with us. I'm sorry, but the decision has been made."

Just as he expected, roars of outrage and protest sounded from the two. Already, the alloted groups had broken apart. Esme and Alice had moved to better vantage points while the others had moved closer to the door, ready to go and visibly impatient. So, when Jasper stepped forward, anger flickering clear across his sculpted features, shock rippled through the groups.

"Enough! Carlisle has made his decision and his word may as damn well be an axiom. There is no time for voting on who stays and goes. We've wasted enough time already on your coddling. If you believe us incapable of performing our duties, then we may deal with it _after_ this excursion. Renesmee is still missing, in case you had forgotten. Until then, we all have our job to do, unless you further wish to question his command and aptitude of execution."

Sometimes, it truly threw the Cullens for a loop, the ones turned and raised within the clan, to get such volatile reactions from the scarred soldier. Sometimes they seemed to forget about Jasper and Alice's different upbringing. It was moments like this that they were harshly reminded. The glaringly obvious evidence rang in their ears. For nearly a century, he lived with the Southern vampires, fighting, _killing_ for a useless cause. For nearly a century, Jasper was trained, taught that to challenge the leader, even vocally, would permit _very_ physical and brutal reprimanding, if not death. To see Carlisle challenged, even inadvertently, so fiercely stirred such an instinctual response. As second-in-command, he was the one usually responsible for handing out the punishments and delivering the death strokes to the upstarts.

They were stunned into silence. He already felt remorse ripping across him for his severity. It wasn't a planned response, but an unconscious reaction. Rosalie was positively affronted, and while Edward silently seethed, he understood. He could read Jasper's thoughts, see the memories forcing themselves back to the forefront of his mind. It was a painful endeavor to force them back for Jasper, and Edward witnessed it all. None said a word. While Rosalie, known for her lack of tact, wanted to responded with surly words, she withheld. Some primordial force was working on her, telling her feral side his words were true. She should not question her leader, and to do so would furthermore provoke her usually silent 'twin'. One may never call her stupid. While prideful, she knows when to yield.

Carlisle could only smile sadly at his adopted member. Sometimes, he felt more like a companion, an outer force, than a son. They had no chance to truly bond like he did with the others. Jasper's implacable nature was never curbed as a newborn, but instead enticed and encouraged. Nearly seventy years later, and his 'son' was still working on dismantling all he knew, all he was ever told about how he should be, what was proper. Carlisle knew that Jasper would come to his defense possibly the fastest out of any convened here at this moment. It was his nature. He knew that the ex-Major would surely turn fisticuffs with those who overstepped the invisible boundaries Jasper had in place.

By now, the family was generally accustomed to the odd, harsh quality of his nature, but it still caught them off guard every once in awhile. Emmett had once jokingly referred to the vampire as 'Carlisle's guard dog', which had been a relatively short-lived nickname after Jasper, in return, would use his powers on the burly joker in the most inopportune moments, like spike the level of lust while Emmett sat in class, or turning up the fright while hunting. A truce had been all but drawn up a week later. They all enjoyed a good laugh at the altercation.

Now was no time for laughter and the somber tone hanging over them all was evidence of that. The two formerly protesting clan members had been silenced and chose their allocated spots, albeit a bit begrudgingly. Carlisle moved to head out the door, pausing to rest a hand on Jasper's shoulder and grant him a small grin. At the contact, Jasper's jaw almost undiscernibly clenched. He gave a subtle nod in return before following Carlisle outside. The group gave them wary looks. Jacob and Seth were already in wolf-form, ready to run. From the way Jacob concentrated heavily in one direction, Carlisle assumed Seth had already relayed the path's information. Before running, Carlisle looked to Bella, silently questioning if the shield was in place. She had a look of concentration, her brows furrowed, and after a moment, she nodded.

With a gesture, they were off, the wolves leading the way. Time seemed to pass in slow motion as they ran with blinding speed through the darkening forest. The further and further they drew away, the more vicious and morose the woods appeared. A grim tenor took to the atmosphere, chilling them in ways they had nearly forgotten about. It was almost frightening. Even though it was still hours from night-time, a sense of perpetual darkness pervaded the area. Just as promised, laying up ahead was a ghastly old house. Seth had not been kidding when he mentioned it appearing straight out of a horror movie. Even as a vampire, something murmured within him quietly, persistently, telling him to turn back, something lived here he should not bother. It was foolish, as they were the predators, but he could not help it. He was not the only one to feel it.

Little did they know that it was their vampiric and deceased sides responding to the beck of the Ghost King. One half of them was dead while the other half was a monster. Both halves resided under Nico's domain. He was the ruler over both Ghosts and Monsters. Their response was only natural. However, also being monsters, they responded to the scent of ichor and blood in his veins as well. Once they caught wind of his scent permeating the building, their mouths watered and pupils dilated, ocher fading to onyx in hunger. It disgusted them how swiftly the response was. The aroma was so very potent, almost unbelievably so. Even the wolves could smell the appeal, which frightened them.

The oddest thing, however, was that the scent _only_ came from the house and a small area around it. Nowhere else. They had already concluded the being could somehow transport himself all around, but it was still surreal, even to them. As they reached the house, they paused, a hesitancy scratching down their spines, the warning now screaming at their primitive side. _Fight or Flight. _It had been so very long since _they_ were faced with such a response. The hunger and intoxication of the thing's scent combined with the desire to turn tail had their thoughts topsy-turvy. They could hardly grasp that one being had such power to cause such confusion in them. Perhaps there were more than one of them and one could elicit such a mixed response. It would cause enough of a distraction to attack, for certain. They had no time to debate.

Leading the way into the house was a near frantic Jacob. Even though uncertainty weighed down his steps, he could not allow his imprint to be endangered by an unknown force. They had to figure this out _now._ Jasper was ready to all but tackle the giant Quileute for his actions._ Had he no sense at all?!_ It could very well be a trap! Even if it were not, none knew the state of the house. They could very well fall through the floor, and while the wolves healed quickly, they still could get hurt. A million and one possible scenarios flashed through his mind within the split second it took for Jacob to cross the threshold. The only possibility Jasper thought nigh impossible happened. Nothing, that is. Nothing happened. Seth followed, running out from behind a tree after slipping on shorts similar to Jacob's. After them went Bella, Emmett, and Carlisle. Jasper brought up the rear, his suspicion never displayed on his face. His taciturn nature didn't allow for it.

All eyes swept the perimeter of the house, unaware of another set of eyes following their every move. Thick shadows crept along the corners and any other place sparse of lighting. The way the shadows seemed to move, slither across the house's surfaces, and seemed to gain a density and a sense of life put them on edge. Sitting on the mantle of an old, unused fireplace was a life-size onyx skull, jowls agape in a silent scream, sockets furrowed in anger. The ruby eyes gleamed cruelly, an air of awareness hanging around the unpleasant fixture. It feels as if the thing is watching them. In actuality, it is. A gift from the paranoid Lord of the Underworld. There was a similar one hanging above the doors of the Hades cabin. It's a security system, of sorts, warning the son of Hades of unwanted intruders.

At camp, it would let out a startling screech-like siren that would call forth on the undead to protect their master's turf. Needless to say, no campers dared to trespass on that cabin after seeing what happened to the Stolls after their quarrel with the undead soldiers. They had been lucky Nico got there to stop the soldiers from taking the trouble-making sons of Hermes to the Underworld to face an unhappy Hades and explain to him why they were encroaching on his cabin uninvited. Nico had doubted his father would find the shaving cream prank quite as funny as they did.

This time, however, it did not screech, did not call on the skeletons to enforce the unspoken law. No, it simply observed, silently warning Nico of the intruders.

* * *

Down in New York, just outside the College Percy attended, Nico felt an odd tingling sensation creeping up his spine. In the back of his mind, he heard a faint, rasping whisper in Greek. It warned him of intruders, and for a moment, Nico felt as if he'd gone insane for hearing it. Then, after a moment, the voice got louder and Nico had to force his face not to morph into surprised confusion. Yep, definitely insane. The persistent voice, however, held an ethereal tone to it, much like the tenor he got in his ears when someone died. It felt like a calling from the Underworld.

Giving in and forsaking his skepticism for a moment, he mentally responded to the voice, inquiring about the trespassers. He was not prepared for the turn of events. Just as he passed the gates into the campus, his entire body stiffened. Renesmee looked at him curiously, only to see his eyes flash a brilliant ruby, which startled her. She assumed it was from smelling the blood, still believing him part vampire. She would never have guessed it was because an ornate skull is spying on her family, who are currently invading Nico's hideout.

Nico's vision was thrown from the campus to his temporary home. To say he was bewildered would be an understatement. He had absolutely no idea what was happening. However, he was currently seeing through the ruby sockets of his muted guardian. His astonishment was only heightened when he noticed the Cullens raiding his house. He recognized each one, except for the smaller, tanned boy. He looked more similar to Jacob, who he learned wasn't a vampire, than the Cullens. Relative? Friend? He'd ponder it later.

Right now, he was focused on watching them tear through his house, top to bottom, in search of something. Or, rather, some_one._ He resisted the urge to smirk at that. After coming up empty-handed, the group then surrounded the burly, brown haired one. Emmett, was it? Emmett had found Nico's suitcases and was attempting to open them. Again, Nico resisted the urge to smirk smugly. They'd only open for Nico, and being made by the Gods, he doubted even vampire strength could break through them.

True to his guess, even the strongest couldn't break them open, despite ripping at the opening, punching the locking mechanism, and hurling it at the ground. He was clearly pissed at being bested by a suitcase. Nico was drawn out of his vision by Renesmee dragging him off. Immediately, he pulled out of her grip with a glare, clearly unhappy with the interruption. She looked worried.

"Are you alright Nico? Your eyes turned red and I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to lose control or anything."

Nico resisted the urge to laugh. She believed he was going to try and drink the blood of these humans. Well, even if it was a laughable notion, at least he gave her further reason to believe him part vampire. He just rolled his eyes before walking on.

"I'm fine, trust me, this is no problem. Let's go."

She simply grimaced before following, clearly not believing him fully. Walking just a step or two behind him, she trained her eyes on him and watched his every move, just to be sure he did not snap. How would she be able to explain that she let Nico kill others because she hadn't tried to stop him?

* * *

Back at the mysterious house, the others were torn between being alarmed that Emmett couldn't open the suitcase and being amused that, well, _Emmett couldn't open the suitcase._ It should have been easy, but they were proved otherwise. Feeling the sense of dread heighten, Carlisle informed them that they should be leaving now. He also motioned for them to take the suitcases. Perhaps they could examine them further at the house. For now, it would be dangerous to hang around unknown territory.

However, as if those were the magic words to trip some invisible alarm, once Emmett picked up the suitcase, he let out a strangled sound, like a wounded animal, and dropped the ebon container, favoring clutching his hand and hissing. Immediately, Carlisle rushed forth and Emmett offered out the hand. Lacerations appeared across the appendage where he had picked up the suitcase. Clear venom coated the wound, already stitching the diamond-like skin back together. It was baffling. After clearing him, Emmett let out a furious roar and kicked the suitcase with all his strength. The luggage careened across the room and collided with the wall, easily breaking through the thin structure. None noticed that it seemed to melt out of existence the second it landed in the shadow of a large tree. Nor did the see it reappear in the corner of the kitchen, as they were standing in the living room.

It was decided to leave the suitcases. None wanted to risk what would happen if they tried carrying it all the way back to the house. What happened that it wounded Emmett so deeply? One could nearly see the bones in his hands after he dropped the baggage and presented the wound to them. They came seeking answers and only left with more questions than ever. Fantastic.

Jacob let out a frustrated snarl, slamming a fist into the wall and breaking through it in a similar manner as the suitcase. That seemed to be the switch that started the frenzy. Both Jacob and Emmett's anger seemed to reach a crescendo as they smashed several objects, not daring to touch anything that might possibly be linked with the being, which only fueled their irascible disposition. Finally, the coaxing words of Carlisle combined with the soothing effects of Jasper's powers got through to them and they left in a haste, leaving the house in a more despairing state of shambles.

* * *

Nico had finally convinced her that yes, he was fine and no, he was not going to snap and go on some manic blood-frenzy, and yes, she could _please_ stop staring intensely at him. It was a bit discomforting, and a tad irritating. With a huff, she agreed, though promised that if he so much as made a motion to harm someone, she wouldn't hesitate in taking him down. The admission brought a laugh to his larynx and a grin to his face. _'Finally, some fire. Maybe I gotta freak out some more people for her to grow a backbone.'_

They made their way up the hallway, looking for Percy's dorm. Nico had been here quite a few times already so he knew where he was going. Renesmee just trailed helplessly, silently debating on how terrible an idea this was and what she was going to do when she got home. That particular train of thought brought a nauseous, frightened bubble forming in her gut. She cut off those forming ideas quickly as to not have a full-blown panic attack.

They could have shadow-traveled to Percy's room but Nico resisted for several reasons. One, he didn't know who would be there. Two, he didn't know what said people would be doing while there. Three, he _really_ didn't want to travel in on the off-chance that Percy was naked. And four, he was conserving the energy for the travel back. He knew he would be dropping her off and then traveling to his 'house', if you could call the pile of ancient sticks a house. He seriously needs to talk to the Gods about an upgrade.

The good thing about the walk here? He was conserving energy. The bad thing? Aside from his jumpy, paranoid nature, Renesmee decided that silence would be awkward and filled it with talking. Lots and lots of talking. Copious amounts. She decided to regale him with the tale of her life story. Half the time he tuned out when it came to something boring, like shopping trips with her psychic pixie of an aunt Alice. The other half, when the odd word caught his attention, he'd listen in. Who knows what she might let slip! So far, he'd learned about the powers of her family, very short snippets of their histories, and Jacob and his imprinting. He figured she was unintentionally breaking quite a few rules telling him all this information. It amused him greatly.

She wasn't doing it on purpose or directly stating it all like 'Oh, hey, my dad's a mind reader and my mom's a mental shield!' No, she wasn't _that_ foolish. Nico got it out of her with a few innocent sounding questions like _'I never heard of imprinting before, sounds interesting. What is it?'_ and _'That's cool. How'd your dad know what that man was gonna do?'_ She liked to boast about her family, not arrogantly, but in a way that showed she was extremely proud of them. She wanted to illustrate to Nico just how awesome her family is. However, she was hesitant to use her power at first, but after quietly explaining it, she used it to show a few quick scenes. She deemed them harmless enough. Her hunting with Jacob, the confrontation with the Volturi, just normal things.

For Nico, however, it was a gold mine. It displayed that Jacob is, apparently, some offshoot breed of werewolf, same with Seth. It also showed numerous powers vampires had and what the Volturi looked like. It was perfect. She truly was inexperienced not to notice when someone was weaseling information out of her. Some bitter part of his conscience whispered to him, _'Not everyone was raised to be suspicious. Not everyone was raised to serve the Gods.'_ He felt slightly bad, using her like this, but it had to be done to appease the Gods. Hades, he'd rather have her feel upset and have a horde of vampires breathing down his neck than have the Gods after him. At least with the vampires he has a chance of surviving. With the Gods, nope. He already knows the astringent taste of lightning from Thalia. He had no desire to taste the full effects of the Master Bolt. Going to his father's domain as a pile of ashes? No thank you, he'll stick with the spy work.

They reached the outside of Percy's dorm room in his residence hall, Sagaponack of Stony Brook Southampton. It, quite frankly, shocked Nico that Percy was going to college. He had a feeling Annabeth had a hand in this. What _didn't_ shock him was Percy's choice of major. He was going for a Bachelor of Science in Marine Sciences. What else would the son of Poseidon go for? Aeronautics, perhaps?

Before knocking, Nico dug a white envelope out of one of the inner pockets of his aviator jacket. Renesmee looked at him questioningly, but he brushed off the look and pulled a pen out as well. Then, he pulled a birthday card out of the envelope and used the wall as a makeshift desk to write. He seemed to write quite a bit and Renesmee tried to sneak a peek. What she seen made her eyebrows raise. It certainly wasn't English he was writing in. To be quite honest, it looked like Ancient Greek. She's seen some characters here and there, but this was completely indecipherable. Was he fluent in it? That seemed so improbable as it was a dead language, emphasis on _dead_. How could he possibly learn? Maybe it was a little code they worked out? She didn't think too much on it but stored the information for later inspection.

Flipping the card shut, shoving it back in the envelope and putting the pen back in his pocket, he rapped impatiently on the door, not pausing for a breath, just continuously pounding until the door swung open. Nico almost punched the person in the face with his incessant knocking. The person fluidly dodged, giving Nico an irritated look.

"You know, you could just knock like a normal person and not beat the door down."

Nico just gave a cheeky grin in return, stepping around the guy while simultaneously handing him the envelope.

"Hey, I just wanted to make sure you heard me. Happy birthday, Perce."

Percy looked at Nico oddly, accepting the envelope nonetheless with a 'thanks' before looking at Renesmee, who just stood there awkwardly. _'Damn it Nico! Why'd you bring me here just to leave me standing outside, staring like an idiot?!'_ She just blushed and gave a shy smile, feeling incredibly out of place. He offered her a grin, still looking suspicious before calling out to Nico again, who was now sitting comfortably on Percy's couch with his feet resting on the coffee table.

"Uh, Nico, who's your friend?"

Nico looked up, pausing his search through the television to look at the duo. He felt like facepalming. Yep, he totally forgot he brought Renesmee. How? He had been so lost in thought and she was being oddly quiet. She just kind of faded from his mind. ADHD and all that. Popping up, he strolled casually back if he didn't have a care in the world. Percy knew otherwise. Few really understood Nico because they never cared to learn. Percy cared. He cared for Nico like a little brother. He watched the son of Hades lean against the door frame, gesturing to the bronze haired girl,

"Percy, meet Renesmee. Renesmee, meet Percy."

Immediately, Percy's expression changed. He seemed to be biting his lip and his face turned slightly red. He coughed before his efforts to not chuckle at her name completely dissolved. He let out the laughter, shaking his head before offering his hand to her.

"Sorry, but you have a funny name, not that I'm one to talk. Nice to meet you Ren, I'm Perseus, but, yeah, well, just call me Percy, like Nico said."

At first, Renesmee was moderately offended that this stranger was laughing at her name. Was everyone Nico knew rude? But then he apologized and offered his real name. She shook his hand graciously, offering a small grin.

"Nice to meet you too Percy. Yeah, I get that reaction a lot. My mom named me after my grandmothers, Renee and Esme."

The thought amused Percy. After inviting her in and closing the door, he turned to Nico, a smirk drawing up his lips.

"Could you imagine what my name would be if I were named after my grandparents? That'd never work out."

Percy toyed with the thought in his head. _'Jimkronos. Kronosjim.'_ No matter which way it was phrased, it just wouldn't sound like any sort of good name. A sour tone in his mind interrupted the musings. _'Yeah, well, nothing involving Kronos is good.'_ It seemed like Nico came to the same conclusion. Both of their expressions faded rapidly into looks of morose and anger. Seeing the expressions, Renesmee took a step back rapidly, feeling like she did something wrong. Why else would both of them look so upset at the same time? She was the only other one here. She looked at them both, her cheeks flushing.

"Um..S-sorry, I, uh, didn't mean to upset you guys."

Immediately, the two traded looks of confusion before looking at her. Percy cocked his head, completely perplexed at why she'd be apologizing. What'd she do? Pass gas? When he spoke, he spoke slowly, trying to figure out why she was sorry. It was Kronos that brought up memories, but she didn't know that.

"Why are you sorry? I'm pretty sure you didn't do anything the whole four seconds you've been here. Unless...you didn't knock over that owl statue by the door, right? Annabeth would kill me if it broke."

It was her turn to look at him confused. When her eyes flicked to the door, sure enough, there was a porcelain owl sitting on a stand with large, intelligent eyes that seemed to be watching them all. It was kinda creepy. She just shook her head, which was unnecessary as Percy looked at the statue with a sigh of relief before flopping on the couch and reading the card, seemingly forgetting about the awkward tension. Nico glanced at her, a knowing smirk taunting her. She could practically hear him drawling out, _'You really need to stop apologizing for everything. It's kinda sad.'_ She just scowled at him, sticking out her tongue, which, in turn, caused Nico to laugh. Percy was too entranced with the card to pay attention to the antics.

After sitting down, Nico looked up to see Renesmee still standing there, looking around in silence and completely exuding an air of awkwardness. He just rolled his eyes, a sarcastic grin contorting his face into a friendly, teasing expression.

"Y'know, you _can_ sit. We're not gonna freak out, I promise."

She just gave a small, uncomfortable grin before sitting on a chair not too far from her current position. It was quiet for a moment as Percy read the card and Nico flipped through channels. She took a moment to inspect Percy. He's fairly tan, as if he spent much of his time outdoors, with unruly black hair that had an odd gray streak within it and the most unusual eyes she's seen. They were the color of the sea, and with her heightened vision, she could make out individual flecks of blue and green, which, to her astonishment, seemed to change colors, making his eyes truly look like the untamable ocean. Where as Nico's eyes were cold, endless black voids that gleamed in a way that made one think he's either a genius or completely insane, Percy's were unpredictable, constantly shifting and changing. It made her feel a bit envious that they had such mesmerizing eyes when hers were just plain old brown. _'Thanks a lot mom. I couldn't even get gold eyes?'_ At least then she'd have the unique family trait.

She finished her inspection of the male. He looks well muscled, like he works out quite often, and she could see multiple scars dotting his exposed skin. On the crook of his right arm she noticed a tattoo. No, it appeared as if it had been seared into his flesh, which she found odd. It was simple, _'SPQR_' with a trident and five lines. It made her wonder why he chose that of all things. There was probably a meaning behind it for Percy and she wouldn't fault him for that.

Her examination took but a few short moments. In those moments, Percy finished the last of the card before turning to Nico with an odd expression on his face, which turned into a wide grin. It felt off to Renesmee, almost as if he were forcing it.

"Hey, thanks Nico. How'd you know?"

Nico was startled by the sudden voice breaking through his haze of thoughts. He didn't let them know it though. Turning his head to Percy, noticing the fake grin, he smirked in return. With a stretch, he began speaking.

"Eh, no problem. A _little birdie_ told me, you can say."

With an exaggerated stretch, he silently turned Percy's attention to Renesmee and after a moment, Percy seemed to catch on. Dawning etched across his face and he grinned in return. Renesmee realized none of it. The card, written in Ancient Greek, was not just a birthday card, as it was nearing Percy's twenty-second birthday. It also denoted the information he'd gathered thus far. The mission was no secret among the demigods. They had been warned to be cautious if they come across any being fitting the description gathered by the Hunters and Hermes. Nico would have just told him in Greek, but even in Greek, names still sounded the same. Another reason he brought Renesmee was so Percy could see what he meant by appearances. While not completely like a vampire, she still held the same essence as them. It'd be best for Percy to familiarize himself with their kind now, right?

Percy turned to Renesmee, a genuinely curious look on his face. She didn't know whether to be comforted by that or not. He seemed to notice her discomfort and gave her an affable enough look. It wasn't that she didn't trust him. No, he exuded an air that she knew she could trust him. Something told her that he wasn't the scheming sort, that he's very loyal and honorable. It's just that she had absolutely no clue what to do and hardly knew either of them, which made everything embarrassing. Yet again, she found herself questioning her sanity for agreeing to going across the country with a stranger.

_'Oh, yeah, I'm trying my hand rebelliousness.'_ That even sounded sarcastic in her mind. Then again, she did have a well-enough reason to act out. Before her was her entire life, panned out and planned by everyone _but_ her. It's time she made her own decisions and learned from her own mistakes, right? She figured so. Her reverie was broken by the deep baritone's of Nico's cousin.

"So, Ren, how'd you meet Mr. Doom and Gloom over here?"

Renesmee smiled lightly, enjoying the casual, friendly turn of events. Nico let out a sarcastic 'harhar' and not-so-subtly flipped Percy the bird. Percy, in turn, just grinned happily, a smug look crossing his face that, quite frankly, confused Renesmee. What was there to be smug about? Suddenly, Nico let out a loud yelp and jumped as if electrocuted before falling off the seat. Well, that answers that.

Turning around swiftly, Renesmee caught the tall, lean figure of a blonde girl looking at Nico with a smirk, her hands folded contentedly across her chest. Nico was on the ground, scowling at her and rubbing his head. Percy was cracking up on the couch and Renesmee couldn't help but laugh in return. At the sound, Annabeth turned attention to the other female in the room and immediately assessed her. By her looks, she appeared to be one of Aphrodite's daughters, though something in her gut told her otherwise. She schooled her expression into her usual cool, calculating façade. Gray eyes seemed to drain of mirth, turning hard and flinty. Renesmee flinched at the sudden harsh look. What had she done to warrant such an acrid look?

Many mistake Annabeth's general demeanor upon first meeting her as her being, well, bitchy. It was hard for them to get past the rough exterior. She had many things torn from her, so much heartache, she wasn't so quick to let such things happen again. After all, her mother is the Goddess of Wisdom, and would it not be wise to guard oneself until one obtains surety? It had taken years for her truly to let Percy in, despite knowing full-well he would never intentionally hurt her. And she's also fiercely protective of her loved ones, as displayed upon Percy's disappearance five years ago. She would not let a possible threat go by unassessed.

And assess she did. After frigid eyes took in a quick overlook of the girl, keeping anything notable stored away in her nearly infallible memory in case future reference calls for it, she spoke, her tones equally arctic and astute in quality.

"Ποιος είσαι εσύ;"

Renesmee just stared at her, completely unsure of how to respond as she didn't understand a word that had come out of her mouth. She blushed, looking at her lap in response, feeling incredibly uncomfortable under that cold stare. The girl seemed to be looking through her, examining her like she was schematics and not a human being. Well, _half_ human, but she didn't know that, unless she was one of them too.

The thought made her look up curiously to examine the girl. As she looked up, she noticed the three looking at each other. She caught the tail-end of the girl reading the birthday card, a look of comprehension taking over her features. Renesmee took a moment to look her over as well. One thing was common between the three. They each are beautiful, unnaturally so. Unlike her family, who were beautiful in an almost frightening manner, to lure in prey, they seemed ethereal, divine. It was intimidating. She did not feel inferior because of it, but, again, the vampiric side of her noticed the divinity of them sourly. She couldn't understand why.

Like Percy, she had a deep tan and seemed rather fit. Her blond hair, curled naturally it seemed, was in a ponytail and a similar grey streak in it as Percy. Was it something they did together, like dye a streak? She didn't know. To be honest, she looked like the stereotypical California girl. Beautiful, perfect figure, perfect tan, blonde hair. The only thing that ruined that were her startlingly grey eyes; storm clouds rolling in over the distance, all-consuming. They looked far wiser and more intelligent than one would fathom someone her age would contain. Then again, look at Renesmee and her family, they weren't exactly normal and she doubted this lot was either.

Again, the examination took but a moment. Then those calculating eyes swung back to meet her brown ones. The intensity of the stare brought heat rising to her face. She wanted to break eye contact, but the girl started talking. Her tone was amicable enough, her expression offering kindness, but it didn't reach those piercing eyes.

"Sorry about my reaction to you, it was rude. I'm Annabeth, Percy's girlfriend. I just get kind of weary from strangers. We've had some bad experiences in the past, so I'm not so quick to trust."

Renesmee offered a shy smile in return and nodded as Annabeth spoke. Something in her told her that Annabeth was speaking the truth. What her gut _didn't_ tell her was that Annabeth was simply trying to cover up her harsh reaction. After reading the information on the card, she was even more hesitant with the girl. Half-vampire? Every demigodly instinct in her was telling her to draw her knife and attack, eliminate the threat before the threat eliminated her. _However_, the card also mentioned Renesmee's harmless enough and somewhat naïve nature, believing Nico to be one of her kind. She knew that to for Nico to succeed in his reconnaissance, she'd have to play friendly with the monster, not tip her off. To ignore her baser demigod instincts was horrid, but she grinned and bared it, quite literally. When Renesmee spoke, Annabeth was mildly surprised by the genial nature of her tones. She truly did seem harmless, but she would not fall for it. Monsters were known for their tricks.

"It's okay, I'm the one that just kind of tagged along without warning you guys, I'm sorry.-'

At this point, she simply ignored Nico's snort, obviously not surprised that she was apologizing again. She could almost feel his eyes rolling at her. Instead of responding to his actions, she continued on politely.

"I'm Renesmee, Nico's...um..well, tag-along, I guess. And don't worry I understand about being careful about who to trust. My family and I have had some bad altercations with others in the past, so we're wary about who we confide in."

Annabeth raised a questioning brow at her. Really? It took Renesmee a moment to understand why she was receiving such an incredulous look. Nico was silently laughing to himself, watching the exchange like a game. Then, she discovered her folly and blushed even more. _'Great, now they think I'm stupid. I just told them I'm careful with who I trust and yet I'm here with pretty much complete strangers.' _She attempted to fix her mistake, blushing all the while.

"Oh, uh, Nico's the exception, I guess."

Nico let out a laugh, a wide grin pulling up his lips as he looked between Percy and Annabeth.

"See guys? She trusts me. I just _ooze_ likeable trustworthiness."

This time, Percy let out a sound of sarcastic disbelief. It was Renesmee's turn to watch the two go back and forth in their banter.

"Yeah, okay dude. Remember my little dip in the river? Oh, and don't forget that time at camp five years ago. You know, the one where you _lied about knowing me_. I had _amnesia_ and you wouldn't help! Total trustworthiness, lemme tell ya."

Nico scoffed, a hand on his heart as if offended.

"You _know_ that time at the river was all my dad. He totally conned me! And come _on_ Perce, that was years ago and you have your memory back! I couldn't tell you and you damn well know it."

Nico pouted as Percy laughed and ruffled his hair. In return, Nico swatted the offending hand away, trying to repress a smile.

"You're just real fucking lucky I was there to bail you out then. _I'm _the trustworthy one._"_

Nico just snorted, rolling his eyes and grudgingly agreeing.

"Yeah, yeah Mr. Let-me-destroy-the-world-to-get-you-out-of-a-cell. Not everyone can be loyal to the point of sheer stupidity. You're just lucky Zhang was there to keep you in check."

There was a sudden lapse in conversation. The tone in the room went from comfortable and jovial to dismal in a heartbeat. Renesmee frowned lightly, seeing all three of them grimacing and looking horribly depressed. Suddenly, Annabeth glared at Nico and slapped him upside the head, earning a yell in protest.

"You just _had _to bring it up? You know it's a sensitive subject. Also, your Uncle wants to talk to you. Today."

The color, or what little color was left of Nico's pallid face, seemed to drain away at the words. He just nodded. His face was wrought with anxiety now. However, in the blink of an eye, his face was back to stoic nothingness. He stood swiftly, figure straight and tense. Was his uncle that terrifying?

"Thanks, Annabeth. I, _we_ better be going now. I have to drop her off before talking to him and I guess it's not good to keep him waiting any longer."

At that, he shot Annabeth a furtive glance, which she returned evenly.

They exchanged good-byes, Renesmee feeling more comfortable in their presence than earlier. After they stepped out into the hall, Nico glanced around to make sure no one was around before guiding Renesmee to a darker corner. Again, to any wandering eyes, they'd just seem to be an amorous young couple. He caught her eyes, stark black against warm brown.

"Alright, Ren, I'm gonna drop you off. Where to? You gotta give me an address so I know where to go. Then I gotta go. I'll catch you around."

Nessie nodded, mentally preparing herself for the unpleasant trip soon to take place. What she didn't know is that Nico already knew where she lived extremely well. She _didn't_ need to know that. That'd raise all kinds of awkward questions that he didn't feel like nor could he answer.

"Okay. Go to 420 Woodcroft Avenue in Forks. And thanks, Nico. I'll see you around too, I guess, if my family doesn't kill me for sneaking away first."

He just gave a stiff nod, his mind far away at the moment. Something was calling to him, echoing in the back of his mind, a faint memory. Grabbing Renesmee's arm, Nico shadow-traveled, aiming for her house. That memory was starting to grow in intensity. A knot of knowing dread almost made his heart skip a beat and he was more anxious to get there and get out as quickly as possible. He felt another flashback coming.

The fierceness of his grip grew tighter. His pupils dilated. His chest heaved up and down rapidly, heart pounding rapidly. Renesmee noticed his change in demeanor and immediately cast him a frightened look. They landed outside the house just as her family came running up from the woods. Upon seeing the duo, the entire clan was racing at them. Hisses and growls were thrown to Nico. She went to speak, but was cut-off as Nico fell to his hands and knees, eyes clenched shut in pain and letting out dry heaves. Glancing at her family in shock, they had stopped from all-out attacking him upon seeing his current state. Jasper sent the kid a worried look as he felt the intense level of pain. Renesmee hardly noticed as she was ripped away from his side by her father.

Nico's vision was swimming before he fell. All he seen were the lightning-quick approach of some very pissed off vampires and werewolves. Finally, his knees gave out, his head pulsing as if Hephaestus was using it as his personal anvil. His stomach lurched violently and it felt like everything in his body just wanted to be thrown up. It was so much worse than the first time. Something finally started to be expelled from his vicious heaving. With each jolt, more came up. He felt like he was throwing up three years worth of food and bile.

Little did he know that he was actually vomiting blood. A whole lot of blood. At the sight of all the crimson being expelled, their demeanor slipped from offensive to worried. He shouldn't be throwing up that much, even if he was part vampire. Nico could hear the faint murmuring coming from the group as if he were underwater. They were frantically discussing what to do. Nico collapsed on to his side, feeling weak and clammy. However, he knew he couldn't stay here. Not in his current state and definitely not when Zeus was waiting for him. A blonde vampire with a compassionate, worried expression was making his way over to the demigod.

It took all his effort and his last bit of consciousness to force himself to sink into the man's shadow once it was cast over him. Man, he would have _loved_ to stay and see their expressions at his disappearance. He literally just _sunk into the ground_. However, once he hit the shadows and put a threadbare effort in getting to Olympus, he faded into the throes of another flashback.

* * *

_Nico looked around, noticing the quaint yet expensive looking decor of their house. It seemed he was in his old room by all the action figures and toys. His eyes immediately landed on the younger version of himself, who was quietly playing by the corner. Just then, Bianca snuck in the room, clearly not noticing the uncharacteristically quiet Nico. She made for the window, pulling it open slowly, trying to avoid making any sounds. Nico, the young one, watched her with curious black eyes. She slipped one leg out and was ready to jump out when Nico piped up._

_"Bianca, che stai facendo?"_

_Bianca covered her mouth with her hand, choking back a surprised scream. Immediately she glared at her little brother who just blinked back, a confused look on his face as to why his sister was climbing out his window. She put a finger to her lips harshly, signaling for him to stay silent before speaking in a whisper. "Stay quiet, Nico. Torno subito presto. Promise you won't tell mamma o papà."_

_Both Nico's frowned at Bianca's words. Nico put down the figurines he was playing with, favoring fiddling with his fingers as he spoke to his sister. Both enjoyed gesturing with their hands as they talked, a common trait Nico still carried._

_"But Bianca, you know you can't go out. The curfew is still in effect. Mamma said il governo takes away rule breakers. I don't want you taken away."_

_Bianca muttered curses under her breath that young Nico never caught, but the older one certainly did. He simply raised his brows in surprise. His sister stepped back into the room and knelt by Nico, who, by now, was on the verge of tears just thinking about the government taking her away. She put a reassuring hand on his knee._

_"Ascolta mi, Nico. They put the coprifuoco in effect because the country is at war. But the war is all the way on the other side of the world. I won't get in trouble, I swear. Do you think I'd leave you so easily, mio caro fratello?"_

_Nico, the young one brightened at her words, sniffling slightly, while the older one grimaced painful. A rueful thought passed his mind. 'Yes, you would, cara sorella.' Young Nico was oblivious to what lie ahead for his future and just how easily she'd be gone. For now, the current Nico simply observed the interaction with greedy eyes, savoring it and storing it in his memories. He wouldn't forget, not this time. Bianca kissed her brother on the forehead before leaning back on the balls of her feet and looking him in the eyes._

_"Will you promise not to tell mamma o papà? I just want to go visit my friend, she has a new device. A...television? I want to see it."_

_The young Nico seemed at war with himself, before hesitantly nodding yes. Bianca jumped up, giving Nico a hug and heading back to the window, a large smile on her face._

_"Grazie, fratello."_

_Nico just nodded in return and watched her leave. She slipped the window shut from the outside. The young boy's gaze lingered on the window for a moment before he started playing again, a forlorn look marring his expression._

_A tingling sensation prickled up the current Nico's spine that he's come to realize as his father appearing. He turned, looking for the God but couldn't see him. Moments later, his mother called out in a loud voice,_

_"Nico di Angelo, vieni qui!"_

_The young Nico got a panicked looked on his face as he got up and reluctantly obeyed his mother, coming upon her beckoning. The older Nico followed the younger one, who shuffled dejectedly. Standing in the living room, arms cross across her chest and a stern look on her expression, Maria di Angelo watched her son come forward. Hades stood a few steps behind her, watching the scene with a black expression, but the current Nico knew the dark humor dancing in his eyes. After a moment of silence, Maria spoke up._

_"Nico, where is Bianca?"_

_The young boy looked frightened but he held his composure well enough for one his age. The older Nico watched the scene unfold bemused, knowing he couldn't do anything but curious as to what he did do back then. Apparently, young Nico stuttered._

_"Um, w-well, Mamma, she...uh..she's...she's in her room."_

_Maria raised an eyebrow at this before continuing with her inquisitions._

_"Oh really? Would you get her for me, per favore?"_

_Little Nico gulped, his eyes frantic at the request._

_"N-no, she's asleep. Sarebbe scortese."_

_Older Nico had to resist the urge to snort at his own words from the past. 'She's asleep, it'd be rude.' That's the best he could come up with? Man, he's come a long way. Hades seemed equally amused by the brass of his son to lie so defiantly in honor of his sister. Maria wasn't nearly as impressed, though a small quirk of her lips gave way that she found it some-what entertaining. However, her main concern was that her daughter was out in the streets when the government made it clear that a military curfew was enacted. Maria narrowed her eyes at her son._

_"Would it be? Would it be ruder than lying to tuo mamma e papà?"_

_At the words, and the rapid widening of young Nico's eyes, his purely baffled and frightening expression, older Nico barely contained his laughter. Oh, he was in deep shit. Young Nico seemed to tremble, knowing he was in trouble now and trying not to cry._

_"Mi spiace, mamma! She just, I...I told her not to but she promised she'd be back and she was happy and I didn't want to make her unhappy. Mi spiace."_

_Nico was so glad nobody he knew now was here to see this. He'd never hear the end of how easily he used to fold under pressure. Maria tried to remain stern, but couldn't at the reaction drawn from her son. Hades stood quietly and unmoving in the backdrop. Nico's mom dropped down to get eye-level with her son and pulled him into a hug before she pulled him back and looked him in the eyes, knowing he couldn't lie now._

_"Nico, where is she?"_

_His lower lip trembled, tears threatening to overflow from onyx eyes._

_"I...I promised not to tell."_

_Maria knew how much Nico looked up to his big sister and would do anything to make her proud of him. Breaking a promise to her was such a terrible thing in his eyes. With a sigh, she ran a hand across his hair, soothing him quietly before speaking to him softly, all pretenses of anger dropped._

_"Nico, you have to tell me. She could get in trouble if you don't. Per favore?"_

_He bit his lip before nodding slowly, clearly deciding his sister's safety was more important than a promise._

_"She just wanted to visit her friend. They have something called a tele..televisor? She wanted to see what it was. You won't tell her I told you, will you? Will she get in trouble?"_

_Maria just gave Nico a smile and a hug._

_"No worries, caro. I will not tell her you told and I will only talk to her. It is a very bad thing to be sneaking out at times like this."_

_Nico just nodded in understanding. Before leaving, he looked at his father who had yet to say a word and gave him an uneasy smile. Hades just smiled in return, utterly amused._

_Nico was once again in his room. This time he was getting ready for bed when all of a sudden, he heard a loud 'BANG!' He froze as he was about to take his shirt off and put on pajamas. There were muffled voices, some shouting, and then someone stomped down the hall, not even pausing at his door. Another 'BANG' informed him that another door had been slammed. Bianca's. Nico bit his lip hesitantly, debating on going to see if she was alright or not._

_Letting his shirt drop back in place, he quietly opened his door and made his way down the hall. Once outside of his sister's room, he paused, unsure if he should knock or not. Finally, he sucked in a deep breath and rapped hesitantly on the door. For a split second, he debated on running back to his room, but instead held his ground._

_The door was wrenched open and he was met with his sister's angry, tear-stained face. She glared daggers at her younger brother while she spoke in acrid, harsh tones._

_"What do you want, ratto?"_

_At that, both Nico's felt as if they had been punched in the gut. Her vehement look made the young one falter and the older one to give her a disapproving frown._

_"I just wanted to make sure you are okay."_

_She laughed almost bitterly, humor clearly absent._

_"I was okay until you went and told on me! You promised me you wouldn't and you did, tu bugiardo!"_

_Nico's lip trembled and tears pooled in his eyes as she accused him of being a liar. He looked up to her so much and to hear her lash out at him broke his young heart._

_"Mi...mi spiace, Bianca. Mamma said you might be in trouble out there and I didn't want you to be in trouble! I just wanted to make sure you were safe! Ti prego, perdonami."_

_She scowled at him, wanting to give in, knowing her brother was just looking out for her, but that damned fatal flaw kept her from it. She was holding a fierce grudge now._

_"No! Mi hai mentito and __**you**__ got me in trouble! I wasn't in trouble before. Get away from me, tu moccioso! TI ODIO!"_

_He had little time to respond before she slammed the door shut again, this time in his face. The force of the air rushed out from the slam made his inky hair fly about before settling in a mess._

_Both Nico's stood stunned. Even the older Nico felt something akin to pain in his chest at what just occurred. He knew his sister had the fatal flaw, but he always viewed her as better than that, stronger. Surely she could overcome it, right? Apparently not._

_It didn't take long for the young boy to burst into tears and run down the hall, heading back to his room. He didn't see the large figure looming just before the door. Nico ran straight into Hades' figure, causing the older version of himself to flinch, expecting backlash. Instead, he was thoroughly stunned when Hades bent and picked up the crying child. The boy wrapped his arms around his father's neck and sobbed into his shoulder. For a moment, the older Nico wanted to laugh at the image of himself getting tears, along with probably snot and saliva all over Hades, Lord of the Dead and God of the Underworld's infamous black spirit robes in suit form. He wanted to, but still found himself stunned at the comforting embrace of the God. He truly did care. Again, he couldn't help but feel such hatred and spite to the King of the Gods for destroying this halcyon life he had._

_The older Nico followed Hades as he entered the younger one's room and sat on the bed, still holding the crying boy. A pale, albino-like hand rubbed the boy's back and after a moment, Nico settled down and looked at his father while he wiped his eyes. The God looked at his son with a gentle expression._

_"Tell me Nico, what happened?"_

_The younger Nico might not have realized it, but the older one knew that Hades was well aware of the events that had taken place. The boy sniffled as he began speaking._

_"I just w-wanted to see if Bi-..if Bianca was al-alright. She called me a ratto and...and a bugiardo. She said, she said she hates me!"_

_He buried his head against his father's broad shoulder as Hades comforted his son again. It was such a surreal scene, Nico tried to memorize every detail possible. Now this was way too precious to forget. Whenever he believed his father hated him, he could just think back to this. Surely his father couldn't hate him when he comforted him so kindly? Just then, Hades smooth, deep voice interrupted the current Nico's thoughts._

_"Shh, it's okay Nico. She does not meant it, of that I can assure you. You did the right thing, just know that. She could have very well been hurt and all you wanted to do was help. There is nothing wrong or bad about that. She is just angry. Don't let it affect you, alright? She will come around soon. Maybe not immediately, but soon."_

_Nico just nodded against his father's shoulder, not saying a word. After a moment, Hades gently pulled Nico back and looked at him in a similar manner that Maria had; lovingly._

_"Nico, listen to me. No matter what anyone says or does, and not matter what you promise, family comes first. Can you remember that?"_

_Again, Nico nodded and Hades continued on._

_"Never forget it Nico. Family is all you have. They come first before anything else. It would do no good to lose your family over something silly like a fight, alright? My family seems to have forgotten that, so I do not want you to do the same. Remember it."_

_For a moment, Nico felt bad for Hades. Here he was, trying desperately to make his son better, to show him the importance of something the Olympians have forgotten; their family. This was Hades only family that truly loved him and Hades did not want to lose that. It's so depressingly unfortunate how quickly it'd be ripped away from the God. No wonder he was so bitter and callous. Nico made a mental note to try and amend his relationship with his father. Both Nico's spoke simultaneously._

_"I will not forget."_

_Hades grinned and hugged him before setting him down on the bed._

_"Good. Now, mio figlio, it is time to sleep. Goodnight."_

_Nico crawled under the covers, yawning sleepily._

_"Buonanotte, __papà. Ti voglio bene."_

_At that last sentence, Hades paused mid-stride on his way to the door and looked over Nico, an odd expression on his face. He almost looked vulnerable. Nico, the older one, noticed the slight tremor of his father's voice, as if suppressing strong emotions. It was so hard to grasp and Nico yearned so badly for these times again._

_"Ti voglio bene anch'io, Nico."_

_It rang over and over in his mind._

_Ti voglio bene anch'io, Nico._

_It was just so weird, hearing it come from his father's mouth. Not a hint of deception. __The world faded, but the words still rang on and on._

_I love you too, Nico._

* * *

Nico was ripped out of the memory and was almost upset that he couldn't still be there. It was so much _better_ than this current shitty excuse of a life. Sure, he's about to become a God, but everything was so much simpler then. Plus, his father actually _liked_ him! He blinked blearily and was overcome by tremendous pain. His entire body ached something fierce and his empty stomach still felt queasy. The muscles of his abdomen hurt from the straining of such furious and continuous retching. The taste of blood heavily lingered in his mouth. He looked around, noticing that he was lying on the floor. The stunned faces of the Olympians, plus his father and Hestia greeted him. He just gave them a bloody grin before the world faded to black, words lingering on his lips, barely discernible.

_"Ti voglio bene anch'io, papà."_

If only he could see their faces. In particular, Hades.

* * *

**AN: And there you have it, Chapter 8! Let it be known that each chapter is getting longer and longer. This chapter is, at the **_**very least**_** 11,300 words. Be happy. I wrote pretty much all of this but one paragraph today, huzzah!**

**Explanation time: Don't take offense to Jasper saying Carlisle's word may as well be God's word, I mean no offense, really. It was the only comparison I could think of that'd convey just how much the word of the leader means to him. I would have said 'his word is law', but that's redundant as I'm fairly certain I've used to before. Again, don't take offense, I don't mean offense and I am ****not**** going to change it. And in case nobody noticed, Jasper is my favorite Cullen. He has a kickass and more realistic back story than most. I feel he's more in tune with his vampire side than the rest, which is why he acts the way he does.**

**Sorry for the wait on the update, I was being lazy. I had pretty much the entire chapter ready to go, but writing the Cullen's part was **_**so damn boring**_**. That's why my updates take a while, because I find writing their parts boring. Melodrama and all that blahblahblah, but I'm trying to stay relatively IC so I can't do too much to spice it up, y'know? They aren't the most lively and three-dimensional bunch in the literature world, but I can work with it.**

**Yaaay, another flash back and some Hades and Nico fluffy father-son bonding! Bianca being mean? Le gasp! I don't think she's necessarily mean, I just wanted to throw in something like a little sibling spat. The flashback has to be triggered by something. Renesmee saying her getting in trouble for sneaking out brought up this memory.**

**I am so incredibly sorry for that shitty excuse of a meeting between Percy, Annabeth, Nico and Renesmee. It's pretty obvious what's on the card, no need to ask. When they pop up in the story again, it'll be better. This was just, ugh, horrid x.x**

**Question Time: You guys never told me who you want, if any, of the demigods to accept Godhood. So, who, if any, are you voting for? No, I don't have it as a poll on my profile.**

**The possible candidates are: Percy, Annabeth, Thalia, **_**maybe**_** Jason, Will Solace, Clarisse, The Stolls, Katie, Pollux, Malcom, and Jake Mason.**

**Just so you know, I'm a big Will fan, so he'll probably end up accepting either way and help his father as a minor god of healing and such, seeing as he's rather good at healing. The only reason I didn't add Leo, Piper, Hazel, etc. is because the demigods offered godhood here fought in **_**both**_** wars and are, or at one point, were leaders of their cabins, meaning they helped lead in battle. I would have totally replaced Jake with Beckendorf and added Silena, as I love them, but sadly, they're dead. So is Frank, just saying, as the books allude to him dying in order to help the mission succeed, much like his mother died saving her comrades in battle. I'm not changing that. Be happy I didn't kill Piper off, she irritates me. Also, in regards to Percy's 5 marks on his SPQR, he's been a Legionnaire for five years, even if he gave praetorship back to Jason and is now in college. To me, once you're a legion member, you're always a legion member. Nico and some of the CHB campers got their SPQR marks after the war.**

**Also, if anyone is wondering as to why Renesmee didn't react to Percy and Annabeth's unmasked scents, you'll find out next chapter. Also, Annabeth said "Who are you?" I'm not gonna translate all the Italian. And Annabeth spoke Greek to Renesmee as a way of testing to see if she understood it. If she did, she was most likely connected to the demigods in some way, or just a very knowledgeable person. Meh horrible chapter is horrible.**


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